


Sign Here

by strong28



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Baker Harry, Cute, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Student Harry, Student Louis, University
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-20
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-03-08 09:50:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 47,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3204815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strong28/pseuds/strong28
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry, 19, moves to America to help his aunt with her bakery. He is transferring to Princeton University, with a year of college studies from England. Louis, 21, is about to be a junior at Princeton University, and works part-time at UPS.</p><p>Taking a chance on love is nervewracking. But what if it just happens to be your deepest and truest love?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Friday, June 6th

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I'm American, not British. Please ignore any mistakes, as I only have a small knowledge of British terms. This story is set in America, but Louis & Harry are from the UK. Liam is American. Both Louis & Harry have tattoos, but nowhere near their current count (none of the tattoos that may complement, for example). I'm taking author liberties with some things. I also haven't written any kind of fiction in a long time, and this is my first 1D fic, so please keep that in mind.

** **

  *** * HARRY * ***

Harry was ecstatic. Even with very little sleep, he was still up getting ready for his shift at his aunt's bakery. He mostly worked Fridays & Saturdays, but he loved helping his aunt and all the lovely ladies that worked at the bakery. The bakery was one of the very few, if only, bakeries in New England that served traditional English sweets and teas.

After getting his acceptance letter that he had dreamed about for years yesterday in the mail from the one and only Princeton University, Harry was too excited to sleep. He had moved to America six weeks ago with the hopes of being able to transfer to Princeton. Harry had always been a studious student, but had waited a year before applying to Princeton when his dad had a health scare last year. Thankfully, his dad recovered, and Harry decided that it was time to give Princeton a real try. His mum's sister lived in New Jersey, operating a local bakery just outside of Princeton University. When Harry moved here, she gave him a place to stay and gladly let him work a couple days a week for some extra cash. His aunt's bakery was in need of some extra help on the busy days anyway, so it worked out perfectly. Harry was actually quite the skilled baker, especially with scones and puddings, which was an added bonus. 

"Barbara!" Harry exclaimed, entering the bakery at five in the morning to start his Friday shift, holding his arms out for a hug. 

"Good Morning, Harry dear," Barbara laughed, giving Harry a hug. "You sure are happy this early morning."

Harry jumped up and down. "Guess what! Guess what!"

Barbara's eyes widened. "You got in?"

"I got in!" Harry started to do a little dance in a circle. "I got in!"

"Oh, that's so wonderful dear! I'm so proud of you! Your mum must be so excited."

"She is! Oh Barbara, I'm just so happy. I've wanted this for years!" Harry lifted his apron to put it around his neck and tie it in the back. "Princeton, Barbara, Princeton!"

"What is all the commotion around here?" A brunette with kind eyes, that always reminded Harry of his mum.

"Aunt Ruthie! I got in!"

"Oh honey! That's so wonderful," Ruth sprinted over to where Harry was and gave him a long hug. "I told you all that hard work would pay off. I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, Auntie. I'm just so relieved!"

"I bet!"

Releasing his aunt from the hug, Ruth gave her nephew a big smack on the cheek.

Harry blushed. "What do you need for me to do today?"

"Let's see… if you could, we need to make a run to that British grocery sometime today, maybe this afternoon. I've got a list for you in the back."

Harry nodded and then turned to Barbara. "Barbara?"

"Oh Harry, could you make some more scones? They were a huge hit last week - we sold out quick!"

"Of course!" Harry said, skipping to the kitchen to start on some tasty scones.

"Don't eat them all this time!" Ruth exclaimed to the back of Harry. "Some customers might want them."

Harry walked backwards and gave his aunt a wink, before going on his way.

Ruth and Barbara laughed, while Barbara started to fill the shelves with the various donuts, cookies, and other treats for the day, as Ruth turned the closed sign to open.

 

*** * LOUIS * ***

"Dude, come on, why not?"

"For the last time Liam, I do NOT work out," Louis tried telling his roommate what felt like the thousandth time.

"Just try it - after a couple times you will feel so much better. Though I still think you secretly work out."

Louis rolled his eyes at the taller man next to him, as they walked to the city center. They had just come from the university after finalizing their schedules for the next semester. 

"What would make you think that?"

"Louis, dude - come on," Liam bumped his arm, with a knowingly expression on his face.

"What?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" Liam asked, grabbing Louis arm, pointing to Louis' biceps. "You've got guns."

Louis scoffed, pulling his arm out of Liam's grip. "So would you if you had to handle all the heavy boxes I do!"

Just because Louis worked at UPS on Saturdays, the occasional Friday, or whenever they needed him delivering and sorting large amounts of heavy boxes, doesn't mean he's some muscle man.

"Look, Liam, I'm not going to work out. So can you just give it up -- "

"There's lots of dudes at the gym," Liam interrupted. "I don't swing that way, of course, but you do so … "

"Can't you just leave me be and let me not work out, eat my cheeseburgers, and -- ooh cake!" Louis said, spotting a display window of cakes and cookies.

Liam turned to see what Louis was looking at. "Oh, that looks so delicious. I could really go for a snack." Liam looked up at the name of the bakery, The Queen's Bakery. "Oh I've heard about this place - you should check this place out Lou."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I've never been, but I heard a classmate talk about it last semester. It's a traditional bakery with cakes, cookies, donuts and coffee - but they are supposed to have quite the selection of British teas and pastries."

"Did you say TEA!!!" Louis grabbed Liam by the shirt sleeve and yanked him into the bakery. If there was one thing Louis could not resist, it was tea. Usually his mum sent him some boxes of his favorite tea, but the last post got lost, so Louis was craving some tea from home. It has been weeks since Louis had some decent tea.

Liam chuckled. "Ok then, I guess we're going in."

Louis looked around the bakery in amazement. Breads, muffins, coffee, cookies, any kind of pastry you could think of - and a whole section devoted to British goods - puddings, scones, you name it. And TEA. Every tea you could possibly think of.

"Holy shit mate," Louis whispered to Liam, as they got in line and Louis looked around in amazement.

"I'm think I'm going to get the chocolate - " Liam said, before two teenage girls started to giggle loudly in front of them.

"What can I get you dears?" A nice woman, with a very British accent, behind the counter addressed the two girls in front of Louis and Liam.

The blonde started to giggle. "Um… We were wondering," nudging her friend with very dark brown hair next to her. "If… um… Harry was here?"

The woman behind the counter tried to stifle a laugh. "I'm sorry dear, he went out to get us some supplies."

"Oh," the two girls said, frowning disappointedly. "Do you know when he'll be back?"

"Not for awhile dear," the woman replied. "Can I get you something from behind the counter?"

"We will just have two coffees please," the blonde girl said.

Liam looked at Louis, puzzled. Who knew a bakery was some sort of pick up place for girls.

Louis shrugged and the two girls left, and it was their turn to order.

"I'll be with you two in just a second, excuse me for just a moment," the nice woman said. The woman walked to the corner to peer out to a room in the back. "Ruth?"

A brunette with kind eyes appeared. "What is it, Barbara?"

"Those two girls came again looking for Harry."

The woman, who Louis assumed was Ruth, rolled her eyes. "Not again," she sighed. "They've been here every day this week!"

The woman that was behind the counter spoke up. "I could just tell them."

"It's really none of their business, but I don't think anything else will make them leave poor Harry alone. That's why I send him out on these errands, because every afternoon we get these girls in here." The woman moved towards Louis and Liam. "Oh, boys, I'm so sorry, I'll be right with you."

"I'm going to check on the bread. Next time those girls come in, we really should just tell them Harry is gay." Barbara turned to go in the back, where Louis guessed the kitchen was.

Louis arched an eyebrow. _Hmm, interesting_. He really shouldn't be eavesdropping, but he knew personally the market to finding anyone to date around here was very slim. Not that he had time to date, with double majoring and taking a huge load of classes every semester. But still.

"So sorry about that!" Ruth told Liam and Louis. "What can I get for you two?"

"Could I get a slice of your chocolate cheesecake? And a coffee?" Liam asked, almost drooling at the sight of the cake.

"Of course!" Ruth got a clean knife out and started to get Liam's cake slice. "And for you, dear?"

"I would just adore a cup of Yorkshire tea," Louis said, his accent quite thick all of the sudden. "I haven't had a decent cup in weeks."

Ruth looked up at Louis. "Are you British, dear?"

"Yes, I moved here a couple years ago for uni," Louis told her.

"How wonderful," Ruth said, handing Liam his cheesecake. "What part of England?"

Ruth started on Liam's coffee. 

"I'm from Doncaster," Louis told her.

Ruth nodded. "I've been there - my sister lives in Cheshire." Ruth set Liam's coffee on the counter, as Liam paid. "There's cream, milk, sugar and utensils in the back near the tables, dear." Ruth motioned towards the other end of the shop where there were a few tables for customers to sit down.

"Cheshire?" Louis raised his eyebrows in recognition. "I've been there a couple times for some footie matches."

Liam rolled his eyes at Louis and headed towards the tables, knowing once you got Louis on the subject of football, or soccer as Liam preferred to call it, he would not shut up. 

"Well dear - we have a lot of British goodies you might miss from back home, if you want to take a look," Ruth motioned towards the end of the display case. "The scones are really popular lately - my nephew makes them."

Louis looked in the display case, and the woman was right, they did look quite tasty. "Could I try a strawberry one?"

"I think we're going to sell out of these again," Ruth told Louis. "I don't know what he does to these but they are just so tasty. At least he didn't eat half of them like he did last time." Ruth laughed.

Louis chuckled, as Ruth set down Louis' tea. "They must be quite good then!"

Louis picked up the cup and took a sip. Louis closed his eyes, savoring the taste. "Oh, wow, it's been too long. This is so good."

"I'm glad you like it! Here's your scone, let me ring you up."

Louis took his scone and coffee and sat across from Liam where Liam had already downed his cheesecake. Louis took a taste of the scone. _Holy shit_ , Louis thought to himself. 

"Mate, you've got to try this," Louis told Liam, motioning towards the scone on his plate.

"No thanks," Liam said, grimacing at the scone. "I'm not into British whatever that is."

Louis rolled his eyes. "Whatever, mate." More for him.

 

*** * HARRY * ***

The bell chimed at the as the door opened to the Queen's Bakery. Harry looked up from sweeping the floor to see Niall, Barbara's nephew.

"Hey, Nialler," Harry said to the blond Irish boy.

"Harry!" Niall beamed. "Are you just cleaning up?"

"Yeah," Harry replied. "Can you turn the lock on the door?"

Niall nodded and turned around to lock the door of the bakery. 

"So… any leftovers?" Niall grinned.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Is that the only reason you come by? To steal food?"

Niall's mouth gaped open with dramatic astonishment. "Harry! How dare you think such a thing? I would never!"

Harry raised his eyebrow at Niall.

"Okay… fine. But it's not the only reason!"

Harry finished sweeping. "I'm about to slice the bread for tomorrow… let me see if there's anything leftover in the back."

Niall pranced towards the back, as Harry shook his head. Niall, one of his oldest friends from back home, was quite something else. Jolly as Santa Claus, and with the same appetite as him, too. He was always coming by with the hopes there were some leftovers or items that weren't sellable that he could eat. Harry didn't mind too much, because despite Niall being the hungry hippo at times, Niall was a great person to just talk to.

Harry walked back and put the broom in the closet, and turned off the light for the main section of the bakery. Once Harry got to the back where the kitchen was, Niall was already sitting down, helping himself to some leftover pie slices.

"Mmmm," Niall groaned. He had a slice of pie on a plate, and his mouth was stuffed with who knows what kind of cake or pastry. 

"Niall, seriously," Harry told the boy, as he pulled his growing hair back with a hair tie. "Can you not read the sign on the door? What does it say?"

Niall looked up as Harry pointed to the sign. "Empoeees onwy."

"Swallow before you talk! Don't make me tell Barbara you eat like that."  Harry fired up the bread slicer. "It says Employees only, not hungry Irishmen."

Niall swallowed. "I'm an employee by blood! And I help out sometimes, I'm just not on the clock."

Harry shook his head with a chuckle, and wiped his eyes, trying not to yawn. "I'm so tired."

"How come?" Niall said, taking another bite of pie.

Harry put on some gloves on before he grabbed some loaves of bread to slice. "I couldn't sleep at all last night, and I've been here since 5am."

"Oh, that's right! Aunt Barb told me you got in Princeton! I'm so sorry man, I completely forgot to tell you congrats!" Niall rushed over to give Harry a hug.

Harry grinned ear to ear, dimples denting his cheeks, returning NIall's hug. "I'm so excited Nialler! A year late, but still!"

"Mate, you got here, that's what's important," Niall told Harry, patting him on the shoulder. "You did the right thing. You'd never forgive yourself if something had happened to Des and you weren't with him."

"I know… I just hate the possibility of being a year behind you," Harry admitted. Even though Harry did take some classes in England, he wasn't sure they would transfer, or if they classes would be enough for him to qualify as a sophomore.

"You won't know that until you meet with your advisor. I bet all your classes transfer and we'll both be sophomores. Do you want me to show you around? Only been here for a year, but I think I know the place well enough," Niall offered.

"Oh yeah, that would be great. I have my appointment with the advisor on Monday." 

"Real happy for you lad," Niall patted Harry on the back while the bread machine started slicing.

"Thanks mate," Harry said, grinning at Niall, as Niall went back to his seat to shove more pie in his mouth.

"Harry is that you -- " Barbara said coming into the kitchen from the back office, before stopping when she saw her nephew with a mouthful of pie. "Niall James! What do you think you are doing!!??" Barbara had her hands on her hips, with a very disappointed look on her face. 

Niall guiltily looked up at his aunt. "I was hungry, Barb!"

"Don't you try that with me! I know all your tricks - I grew up with your father! For goodness sakes, where are your manners?" Barbara wet a cloth down and walked towards Niall and wiped her nephews face, that was covered with jam and pie crumbs. "It's like you are six years old again!"

Barbara turned around towards Harry, after hearing a yawn come from Harry. "Oh, Harry, dear, let us finish that - go home, you are exhausted!"

"I'm okay, really I -"

"No, Harry," Barbara told him sternly, pointing towards the back door. "Get! You need some sleep."

Harry chuckled at Barbara. She really was like a second aunt to Harry. "Okay, okay!" Harry turned the bread slicer over to Barbara, taking his apron off. "I will see you tomorrow, okay?" Harry kissed Barbara's cheek, and waved to Niall, as he walked out the back door.

"Bye Harreh!" Niall called off to him with another mouthful of whatever Niall had gotten his hands onto.

Barbara slightly rolled her eyes at her nephew, and chuckled as she finished up slicing the bread for tomorrow.

Once Harry got home, he crashed on his bed, the lack of sleep the night before catching up with him, as well as the long day. He loved working at the bakery, but the hours were long. He usually had to get up at four in the morning, and wouldn't get home until about seven that night, after cleaning up and preparing for the next day after the bakery closed at six. Thankfully, the bakery was only open Tuesday through Saturday, and he only worked two of those days. He loved the extra money, but he had a feeling he might have to work less at the bakery once he started at Princeton, which he knew his aunt would be fine with.


	2. Saturday, June 7th

*** * HARRY * ***

Harry woke with his alarm blaring. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he saw his alarm said four in the morning. He rose to get out of bed and noticed he didn't even change his clothes last night before he went to sleep. _Wonderful_ , Harry thought to himself. Grabbing a clean pair of skinny black jeans and a green tee, he slowly tried to wake himself up as went to go take a shower.

Once he was all clean and dressed, he grabbed his wallet and keys, and a green headband scarf and was on his way to the bakery.

"Good Morning, Harry," his Aunt Ruth greeted him, giving him a kiss on the cheek as Harry entered the bakery through the back door.

"Morning, Auntie," Harry replied to his aunt, kissing her cheek.

"Did you get some rest?" His aunt asked him.

"Yes, I feel much better today," Harry replied with a smile.

"That's wonderful," Ruth said, giving Harry a hug. "Do you mind helping Barbara with filling the display shelves?"

"Of course not," Harry said, putting his headband scarf on, so his hair would stay out of his face.

Later that morning, Harry was helping Barbara fill the display counter with some fresh cookies that were right out of the oven.

"Harry, did your aunt tell you about your little visitors yesterday?" Barbara asked Harry, chuckling.

Harry turned to look at Barbara, eyes wide. "Oh no, not again," Harry groaned.

Barbara laughed. "Oh yes!"

For the past two weeks, Harry has been getting giggles and looks from several girls that like to socialize around the main square, as they come into the bakery for a coffee. It usually was around the afternoon hours, and he knows that's why his aunt has been sending him on random errands after lunch. 

"I told your aunt we should just tell them your, preference shall we say, next time they come in." Barbara looked at Harry to see his reaction.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Fine with me. I have no plans to go back in the closet, and if that would make them leave me alone, I'm all for it." Harry pondered to himself for a minute. "But would they even believe you though? Even when I tell people, girls particularly, they don't seem to believe me." Harry groaned again, leaning down on the table, covering his eyes with his arm, as Barbara patted his back lovingly.

Suddenly, a buzzer rang from the back. "Oh, could you get that dear? That's probably our deliveries."

"Sure," Harry told Barbara, as he removed the clear gloves he was wearing for handling the cookies, and walked towards the back of the bakery.

"Coming!" Harry said, as he walked briskly to the back door.

Opening the door, Harry almost gasped. _WOW_ , he mouthed, turning his head to the side. Standing in front of Harry was possibly the most gorgeous guy he had ever seen.

*** * LOUIS * ***

Louis sipped his cup of tea, as he got into his truck for the day's deliveries. His mum's package of tea finally came in yesterday, and it was all he could do is rip it open and start making tea. He probably shouldn't have made this much, as he probably would have to take a wee, and sometimes it was hard to find a loo when he was driving around for work. He wasn't working a full day today anyway, so he was just going to enjoy his tea.  Louis was just glad that his employer didn't make the part-timer's wear those ridiculous brown outfits. Louis wasn't exactly dressed that great today, but it was just a few hours and he didn't really care at the moment. Actually, he probably looked awful, resembling a hobo for sure. All he had on was a tank, some track pants and a beanie. His chest tattoo was covered up due to the high collar of the tank, so Louis felt confident that his employer didn't care that he was dressed so sloppily. He didn't even comb his hair - just shoved it under the beanie. He also hasn't shaved in about a week. He most definitely looked like he had just rolled out of bed. At least he got the easiest shift today. Nothing residential, all he had to do was deliver packages to a handful of businesses to their back entrances. Louis hadn't gotten the business route in awhile, so it was a nice change. He didn't even know the names of the businesses he delivered the packages to, as it was all a numbered system. All Louis had to do was give them their packages, and get a signature. Easy peasy.

A couple hours or so later, Louis was almost done with one side of the square, and once he was finished with the other side, he would be done for the day. He was looking forward to relaxing and playing some FIFA. He definitely wouldn't be able to chill out and do absolutely nothing at the end of the summer when uni started up again. Another eighteen hours on the schedule. Why he wanted to major in business and music at the same time he didn't know - except that maybe he was just a glutton for punishment. Double majoring added at least another year to his time in university.

Louis parked the truck at the last stop on the first side of the square. He went to the back of the truck and put the six packages on the dolly that needed to be delivered. He walked up to the back entrance and rang the bell.

A few seconds later, he heard, "Coming!"

Louis thought the voice sounded vaguely British, but Louis just shrugged it off.

Louis heard the door open. Double checking the numbers, he started to talk without looking up. "Hey, I've got six boxes for you. Where would you like me to put -- "

Louis looked up, and was faced with a sea of green eyes and curls. 

"Hi," the guy at the door smiled. Dimples. Oh, Louis was in trouble. 

Louis was suddenly getting very warm, and it couldn't have been more than 80 degrees outside. Louis couldn't seem to move, either. His eyes just continued staring at the beautiful guy in front of him. 

"Hello?" The guy asked again, looking at Louis questionably. 

Trying to shake off his trance, Louis tried to find his words. _Where were his words?_ Usually you couldn't get to Louis to shut up, yet here he was, rendered speechless.

"Um, yeah, … um," Louis spat out. _What the hell?_ Louis thought to himself. _Talk, you idiot!_

"Are those ours?" the guy pointed to the boxes.

"Um yes. Where.. ?" Louis looked down, as he couldn't handle looking at someone this handsome - no not just handsome, this guy was beautiful. Louis could feel his ears and cheeks getting red from probably blushing. What was happening to him? Louis never blushed. 

"Right in that corner is fine," the guy pointed to a corner, pulling the door open wider for Louis. 

Louis just kept his eyes on the ground, and put the boxes in the corner, before hauling his ass out of there.

Once he put up the dolly and got into his truck, he saw the signature tablet he was supposed to bring laying on the passenger seat. _Shit_ , Louis thought. You had to get a signature or you wouldn't get credit for the deliveries, and the bosses got really pissed if there were non-signature deliveries. It was fine for residential, but it was definitely not allowed on the business route. He had to go back and face those stunning green eyes again or his ass would be on the line. Louis started to pound his head on the steering wheel. _I'm such an idiot._

Grabbing the tablet, Louis exited the truck and walked towards the back door again. His heart was racing, as he wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. Squeezing his eyes shut and taking a very deep breath, he pressed the bell. 

The door opened again, and Louis looked up to see the green-eyed boy look back at him in surprise.

"Back?"

"Um, yeah..." Louis stammered, raising his arm to scratch the back of his neck. "I forgot to get you to sign," Louis handed him the tablet. "Could you just sign here?" Louis pointed to the signature box on the tablet.

"Oh, sure," the guy said, taking the tablet from Louis to sign. Louis looked at him a little closer. He was a few inches taller than Louis, and yes, just as Louis imagined, he was even more handsome up close. Louis estimated that he was only a couple years younger than him, if that. He was fairly muscular, but not overly so. He had gorgeous brown curly hair that was pulled back in some kind of headband, with several curls having escaped. Glancing at the guy's hand, Louis thought he spotted a couple tattoos on his wrist. _Great_ , Louis thought. Just another thing he can find attractive about this guy.

The guy handed Louis back the tablet, and Louis thought he heard him whisper "Hi."

Louis was so enamored looking into those green eyes, he almost lost his hold on the tablet. "Oopsie daisy," Louis eyes widened in embarrassment. _Oopsie daisy? Could this get any worse?_ "Um... bye."

Louis turned on his heel as fast as he could, before he could embarrass himself even further. He turned on the truck and hightailed it to the other side of the town square. 

*** * ***

As soon as Louis got to the other section of the town square, he called Liam. "Answer your phone, god dammit!"

 **Louis** Answer your phone! I need to talk ASAP!

A couple minutes later, Louis' phone beeps.

 **Liam** Jesus, what is it? I'm working!

 **Louis** I am FREAKING out, is what it is! When is your break?

 **Liam** In an hour, why?

 **Louis** See you in an hour.

 **Liam** Dude, I actually have things to do on my break..

 **Louis** Doesn't matter. This is more important!

 **Liam** I highly doubt that. Stop being such a drama queen!

Louis flew through the rest of his deliveries, before dropping off the truck and getting into his car to drive to Liam's work, the off-campus bookstore. The spring semester had just ended, so it definitely wouldn't be busy. Louis still had about ten more minutes before Liam's break started, so he went straight to the restrooms to try to calm himself down.

"Aaaa!" Louis squeaked, once he saw himself in the mirror. He looked worse than he thought. His hair was a complete mess, and had refused to stay nicely tucked inside his beanie. He looked red and flustered, and he definitely needed to shave. Since he properly made a fool of himself anyway, I guess it didn't matter that he didn't look even close to presentable. Louis tried for a few minutes to get his hair back in order, with only minimum success.

Louis took a wee, and then exited the restrooms, hoping to find Liam. He ran into Zayn, one of Liam's co-workers. "Zayn!"

"Oh hey Louis," Zayn said, spotting Louis, looking frazzled. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Louis snapped. "Where's Liam? I need to see Liam. Have you seen him? Where is he?" 

"Woah, dude, calm down," Zayn patted Louis' shoulder. "He's upstairs in tees."

Louis whipped by Zayn and raced up the stairs. "Thank you!"

"That guy is so weird..." Zayn muttered to himself.

*** * ***

"Liam!" Louis yelled. "LEEYUM!!"

Liam rolled his eyes, as Louis came to a halt in front of him. "Louis, you don't have to yell."

"Are you on break yet? Can we talk? This is important, I need to talk to you!" Liam looked at Louis strangely. 

Louis usually couldn't shut up, but he usually wasn't this wild and frazzled. "What's wrong with you? Calm down!"

"CALM DOWN!!!??? I can't CALM down!" Louis yelled.

"Shh! Quiet it down, will ya!" Liam grabbed Louis' arm, and pulled him towards the back, where the employee break room was.

"What has gotten into you?" Liam motioned for Louis to sit down, once he had closed the door to the break room.

Louis tried to calm his breathing down. "It's BAD, Liam. I made such a fool out of myself."

"Lou, you're gonna have to tell me what happened if you want me to help you," Liam got up to get some water out of the water fountain for Louis. 

"Here, drink this," Liam put the paper cup in front of Louis, before sitting down across from him.

Louis took a drink of the water, and took some deep breaths. "Okay. Here's what happened. Was doing my deliveries, right? Like normal. Got the business route, so figured it would be easy. Was almost done on the east side I think, and -- " 

"And what?"

"…there was a guy." Louis peeked at Liam.

Liam's eyebrows perked up. Louis rarely talked about guys or dating. Louis really didn't have time to date because of his schedule, plus the fact that this area wasn't exactly full of available men that had the same, well, likings, as Louis did. At least that's what Louis made Liam believe, anyway. Plus they were in the Ivy Leagues, after all, and most people here didn't have time to screw up their studies by dating.

"What have I always said my dream guy is?" Louis asked Liam.

"Green eyes and dimples," Liam retorted. He looked back at Louis, who gave him a knowingly look. _Oh. Oh!_ "So I'm guessing.. you met someone with green eyes and dimples?"

"I wouldn't say met exactly, more like saw," Louis said.

"Huh?"

"I don't know what happened, Li. One minute I'm doing my normal route, and the next I'm at the back entrance of some business looking at this incredibly handsome, beautiful guy, and I -- I froze."

Louis started to stand up and pace. "I don't freeze up with people, Liam. I'm not shy. I've never been shy. I usually can't shut up! But yet I could barely even speak, talk, do anything. I made a complete ass of myself! I even said "oopsy daisy"! Who says that!?"

Liam tried not to chuckle too loud.

"And to make matters worse, I haven't shaved, and I just threw stuff on this morning and look absolutely horrible, and yet I'm face to face with this gorgeous - oh my God, Liam. I've never seen a guy this, well, _stunning_. Taller than me, maybe by a few inches, but not too tall. Probably our age or a little younger, but curly hair, dimples… and those green eyes, gah, I almost melted on the floor."

"Wow, this guy must be something else. I've never seen you like this, Lou… " Liam chuckled.

Louis sat back down at the table, with his head in his hands. "I made a complete fool of myself. I could barely get five words out."

"Did you at least get a name or something? He had to sign something, right?" Liam asked.

"I couldn't read it - it looked like a scribble. An H or an S, maybe? I don't know. I just hightailed it out of there I was so embarrassed."

"Could you tell if he is gay?" Liam didn't want to ask the obvious, but he also didn't want Louis to pine over someone that might not even bat for his team.

"I wasn't there long enough to really get a vibe off the guy, plus I was so zoned out anyway," Louis answered, honestly. "But no straight man is that attractive, I will tell you that."

"Okay, well do you know the name of the business? It was on the packages, right?" Liam asked.

"No, they switched to the number system several months ago. And I just do the back entrances, so I don't even know what the businesses are. I was in such a daze I don't even remember what it looked like. I mean, some back entrances are labeled, but this one wasn't. I just go by the numbers."

"Oh Lou-"

"Oh, and he's also got a couple tattoos! Might as well just stab me in the heart."

"Lou, don't you think you're being a little overly dramatic-"

"Am I!!?? Am I??" Louis yelled, exaggerating his words. "The first guy I come into contact with that is not only extremely handsome, but also exactly my type - and I blow it! Oh, and I am pretty sure he might be British, too!" Louis holds his arms up in defeat.

"Poor you," Liam chuckled, amused. Liam always got a kick out of what a drama queen Louis could be. "Louis, you do realize there is a very large chance you will see this guy again, right?"

"What!?? No, why would I?" Louis asked.

"Don't you deliver to the same businesses every week?" Liam asked.

"No, not always. Depends on what route they give me. They've been giving me residential a lot, I don't always get the business route. This was the first time I've gotten the business route in a long time.The town square isn't the only business route I could get, anyway. If I did get the same route, it would depend on what packages they have coming in, I guess. Oh God, no… I can't face those green eyes again, not right now. I'm just too embarrassed." Louis placed his head on the table and covered his eyes.

"Louis Tomlinson? Embarrassed? I thought I'd never see the day."

Louis looked up, and gave him the bird. "Shut up. Can't you see I'm in pain here?"

Liam came around and patted Louis on the shoulder. "Oh, cheer up, 'ol pup. Might not be as bad as you think. Why don't you just go home, clean yourself up. You'll feel better. Drink some tea, sleep it off, try not to think about it."

Louis sighed. Louis stood up, nodded at Liam, patted him on the back, and left the store. Part of Louis hoped he wouldn't see that gorgeous boy again, because he didn't think his heart could take it. He'd never felt his heart pound so hard or so fast. However, on the other hand Louis did want to see the boy with such green eyes again, because how many chances do you get to come face to face with the guy of your dreams? 


	3. Monday, June 9th

  *** * LIAM * ***

The past several days have been so weird.

Liam has known Louis for about two years, ever since they were put together as roommates, but never has he seen Louis so.. Liam didn't even know the word for it. Frazzled? Ever since Louis encountered that guy on his shift, Louis' moods have just been very sporadic lately - from very high to extreme lows. He seemed somewhat normal yesterday, when Liam suggested they go to the big lawn and play soccer. That seemed to calm him down a little bit.

To be honest, Liam was getting a little concerned. Seeing Louis like this was just very unraveling. Liam didn't want to pry, but he almost thinks the reason Louis was reacting this way was because Louis was so out of his element. Even though Louis was openly gay, Liam had never even heard of an ex-boyfriend, or Louis dating anyone. Liam's sure Louis has gone on a date or two, but he's doubtful Louis has done much more than that. Liam always just guessed it was because Louis never really found anyone he wanted to date. Louis had never mentioned to Liam anyone that he found attractive, just what his 'dream guy' was. Louis did have a point though - they are in the Ivy Leagues and at freaking Princeton University. You couldn't screw up here. They are constantly studying, writing papers, reading, and they barely even had time to work a few odd hours a week, much less date. Liam feels like Louis has never had such an instant attraction with someone before, and it scares Louis. Or maybe it scares Louis that this the first person he's seen that is actual "dating" material. That's just Liam's hunch, but who knows if he's right.

It honestly wouldn't surprise him if Louis went home for a week or so. Louis had been on the phone with his mom a lot, and Liam thought he heard him on the phone with her as he left for work. It probably would do Louis some good. Louis' mom always had a way of sorting Louis out.

Liam entered the off-campus bookstore, and was greeted by Zayn.

"Hey Liam."

"Hey Zayn - how's the store today?"

"Not too busy - just stocking inventory," Zayn told him, crossing his arms around the clipboard he was holding. "So, what was up with your friend the other day?"

"Who?" Liam asked Zayn, as he walked with Zayn to the stockroom and clocked in.

"The weird one," Zayn replied. "Louis? He seemed odder than usual."

"Oh, he's also my roommate. He was just having a rough day," Liam replied, looking at to see what needed to be stocked.

"He was acting very strange," Zayn said, giving Liam a confused look.

"He's not always like that - he was just having one of those days. Usually he's, well, a sassy little shit. But he's very funny and got a good heart, you just have to dig a little bit." Liam grabbed a box cutter and started to unpack some books that needed to be shelved and put out. "He's just stressed out right now, that's all."

"No big deal, man," Zayn said. "It's not my business. I was just curious, just never seen that dude so wild eyed."

*** * ***

Liam was about to start putting more merchandise up on the upper floor, mostly in the clothing section, when he decided to check up on Louis. He was still on the clock, so he figured he would just text him.

**Liam** Hey bud, you doing ok?

Liam put his phone in his pocket and rolled the boxes he had put on a cart into the elevator. Once he got to the second floor and into the empty stock room, Liam got all the merchandise out, and started to sort, price, and tag.

Liam's phone buzzed.

**Louis** Ok I guess, feeling a little homesick.

**Liam** Is it because of that guy? Or are you actually homesick?

**Louis** Not completely... I do miss my mum and sisters. My dad, too. I just think .. I need to go see my mum.

**Liam** Understandable. Can you get time off? It might do you some good.

**Louis** I have some time I can use. Just have to call and request it. I haven't been in several months, so I have the money saved up.

**Liam** If you're sure... just let me know if you need a ride to the airport.

**Louis** Thanks.. you are so great. I mean really, just fantastic. Just super. If I could list all the best things about you, it would be probably a hundred pages long . . .

**Liam** Do not make me kick you through this phone, you sassy shit.

**Louis**   

*** * HARRY * ***  

"Thanks for showing me around and giving me a tour, Nialler," Harry told Niall. It was Monday afternoon, and Niall had met up with Harry after his appointment with his advisor, after selecting and registering for classes. Everything had gone well, and all of his courses that he took in England had transferred, so Harry would officially be able to start Princeton as a sophomore.

"No problem!" Niall responded, walking around the Princeton campus, showing Harry what he could think of. "It's a really nice campus. Especially in the fall, when the leaves turn colors."

"Is there a bookstore or someplace that sells tees?" Harry asked. "I really want to get a Princeton T-shirt."

"Oh yeah, the off-campus one is best, it's just a short walk." Niall motioned the way for Harry to follow. "I'm glad you got all the classes you wanted, and I'm so psyched we at least have one class together."

"Yeah, it's going to be great isn't it?" Harry grinned. "I'm just glad my course load from the last year transferred. I was afraid I'd have to start all over again as a freshman."

"I told you everything would work out, lad," Niall told him reassuringly. "Everything is pretty close by too - the town square is only about a fifteen minute walk away. You could probably pop into the bakery between classes if you wanted. And of course, there's lots of great places to eat. Pizza, sandwiches, burgers..." 

_Five minutes later..._

"Italian, chinese, fried chicken..."

"Are you seriously still talking about food?" Harry asked, following Niall up the stairs to the second level of the bookstore.

Niall grinned. "What? I like food!"

"As I'm well aware," Harry laughed. "Oh wow, so much to look through." Harry looked around the store. There were so many options. Tees, sweatshirts, and everything in between. Even stuff for your dog! "I'll start with the tees I guess."

Niall lead the way to the T-shirts, and they started to browse through the selections.

"Oh mate, did I tell you about Saturday?" Harry asked.

"No, you just worked, right?" Niall looked up at Harry.

"Well, yeah, but the strangest thing happened when UPS came by."

 

*** * LIAM * ***

Liam was starting to fold merchandise on a counter that looked out towards the merchandise floor. It was nice and quiet, with only a few customers. He could just sit and fold without too many distractions. Sometimes he did this in the back because it could get crazy at times, but he preferred to be out in the actual store. People watching was always interesting.

"Did they mess up the deliveries or something?" Liam looked up to see two guys talking. _That's an odd accent_ , Liam thought. It didn't sound like Louis' accent, so it definitely wasn't British. Scottish or Irish maybe?

"No, no, nothing like that - "

Now that one was definitely British. _I must be really bored if I'm interpreting accents_ , Liam thought. He couldn't see who the two guys were, as their backs were to him, and they were just browsing the tees on the racks.

"Well first off, the guy that did the delivery - damn! I mean, he had that perfect combination of cute and hot y'know.. I mean, not that you would know. Um, anyway. What was so strange was that the guy barely even looked at me. He stared at the ground a couple times, and he only said a couple words. It was just.. odd."

The Scottish or Irish guy turned around to face toward's Liam direction, and Liam saw a blond dude that was kind of bouncy. "That's weird, lad. Maybe he was thrown off by your accent?"

"I don't think so, mate. What little he said or what I could hear - I swear he was British."

_Huh_ , Liam thought.

"Maybe he was just shy. Or maybe he liked you. Who could deny your dimples?" Liam saw the blond guy lean towards the other guy and pinch his cheeks.

_Ok, getting a little more coincidental..._

"Yeah, right.. people that handsome don't go for people like me -"

"Don't sell yourself so short lad!"

"Anyway, he left really abruptly, but then he came back because he forgot to get me to sign for the packages. And he was still very quiet, but anyway, I signed. And then he did the cutest thing, he said 'oopsie daisy.'"

Liam's eyes bugged out. _Oh shit_! All he could see of the guy was a guy in a white tank with a green beanie on his head. This can't be just a coincidence.

The guy giggled. "I mean, how cute is that?"

"You like him!"

"What!? I don't even know the guy. I just thought he was very cute! Fit...and hot.... okay very hot."

Liam looked up from folding tees and the guy had turned around where Liam could see him and he was smiling. _No way_ , Liam thought. The guy matched Louis' description exactly. Little taller than Louis, curly hair (as much as Liam could tell, as most of it was tucked into a beanie), dimples. The guy was too far away to tell if he had green eyes or not. Liam reached for his phone quickly.

**Liam** Z, can you come up to tees really fast? I need a favor.

**Zayn** I'm covering the registers. What do you need?

**Liam** Can you get someone to cover for you for just a minute? It won't take long - please?

**Zayn** Fine, be there in a second.

"What is it?" Zayn asked once he found Liam.

"Ok, I need a favor, for a friend. Do you see that guy in the beanie over there?" Liam motioned to the two guys he accidentally eavesdropped on.

"Yeah."

"If he buys anything, could you get me the name? If they pay with cash, then forget it," Liam told Zayn.

Zayn had an incredulous look of skepticism on his face. "And why exactly?"

"Z, I have gotten you countless chick's numbers and names. You owe me! Just this one little favor."

Zayn looked at him suspiciously. "You're not gay, are you?"

"God, Zayn, no! Just do it!"

"Alright, alright..." Zayn said, leaving very confused. 

_Fifteen minutes later..._

**Zayn** Harry Styles. He also signed up for our mailing list.

**Liam** Thanks, Z. Did you happen to notice what color his eyes where?

**Zayn** What the fuck dude? I don't know. Greenish?

**Liam** It's for a friend!

**Zayn** You're getting just as weird as your roommate.


	4. Thursday, June 12th

*** * LOUIS * ***

"You really didn't have to drive me to the airport, mate," Louis told Liam a few days later, as Liam merged onto the highway. Louis had a flight in about two and a half hours, with a very long travel day ahead of him. A seven and half hour flight to London, and then catching a connecting a flight to Manchester. His mum was going to pick him up there, and then they would drive to Doncaster, which was another long drive. But it was all worth it just to get to spend the next couple of weeks with his mum and his two younger sisters. He was hoping to see his dad too, but his dad might have to work most of the time he was there.

"Louis, dude," Liam told him. "Do you know how expensive it will be to park your car here for two weeks?"

"Well, yeah," Louis replied. "But still, you had to take off work, it's a long drive, and not necessary..."

"Just stop your moaning and let your roommate do a nice thing for you, okay?"

"Alright, alright..." Louis leaned back in the passenger seat, and relaxed his eyes. He would be exhausted by the time he got home to Doncaster, so he might as well get a head start. Louis just hoped his mum could sort him out. She almost always could, but this wasn't something like a sibling rivalry or a teacher conference.

Louis wished he could pinpoint why just seeing an attractive (okay, more than just attractive) guy made him have such a reaction. He had come out several years ago, so just being gay wasn't it. Louis just knew he hated feeling this way. Louis was always confident, which was another reason he was clueless as to why he was reduced to almost silence and stuttering just by looking into some beautiful green eyes.

"Ok, Lou, we're here," Liam said, causing Louis' eyes to flutter open, a little bit later.

"Oh, sorry, guess I fell asleep," Louis said, apologetic.

"No worries, dude," Liam told him. "You've got a lot going on in your head." Liam patted Louis' shoulder in a reassuring motion.

"Wish I didn't," Louis murmured, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"Need help with your bag?" Liam asked.

"Nah, just open the boot and I'll get it."

"The who what now?" Liam asked, looking at Louis weirdly.

Louis chuckled. Poor Liam, he could never remember all of the British words and expressions Louis threw at him.

"The back of the car, the trunk," Louis replied, trying to impersonate an American accent.

"Ohhhh," Liam said. "You Brits and your strange words. Text me when you get there, have a safe flight bud," Liam fist pumped Louis, as Louis exited the car.

Louis opened the car door with the handle. "Will do."

Louis walked to the back of the car and retrieved his bag and backpack, and waved to Liam in the car as he entered the airport.

*** * LIAM * ***

A couple hours later, Liam got to the off-campus bookstore, and let Zayn off the hook while Zayn covered for Liam.

"Hey Zayn," Liam called to him, once he spotted Zayn in the stockroom. "Thanks for covering for me for a few hours."

"Hey man," Zayn said, looking up to see Liam. "No problem. Get everything taken care of?"

"Yeah, dropped Louis off at the airport," Liam turned to the keypad near the door to clock in.

"Everything ok?" Zayn asked.

Liam sighed. "It will be. I know you think Louis is weird -"

"That was probably the wrong thing to say. I don't even know him," Zayn said, apologetically. "I shouldn't have judged so quickly."

"No, its fine. Anyway, he's gay -"

"Ohhh, that makes more sense now," Zayn said, everything coming together in his head. "That's why you were asking about that dude the other day."

"Yeah, maybe I should have explained that a little further. Anyway, Louis met or saw this guy the other day, and it matched that dude's description, and well Louis is just head over heels and isn't dealing with it very well. And I have no idea if that's the guy or not."

"You don't?"

"Yeah, tried looking him up on Google and every social media place I could think of - nada."

"Did you try the email address I gave you from the mailing list?" Zayn asked.

"Same thing. Guess he doesn't own a computer or everything is set to where you can't find it." Liam sighed.

"Well if he comes in again, I can let you know," Zayn offered.

"Thanks, but I think it's better if I just don't get involved - this is just something Louis has to do to himself." Liam sighed again. "Sorry. It's just the dude is like a brother to me, and I just hate to see him like this. I wish I could help him, but it's really not my place to do that."

"I understand, man," Zayn patted Liam's shoulder. "Hey, why don't you come out later? Bunch of us are going to go play some pool to wind down and chill."

"That sounds cool," Liam told him. "What time?"

"Seven, at Butler in the rec room. See ya!" Zayn waved bye and turned to exit.

*** * ***

Liam opened the doors to the rec room and looked for Zayn. Liam walked towards Zayn, once he saw that he was with a couple other guys.

"Hey, Z," Liam said, approaching the group of a couple other guys that were gathered next to a pool table.

"Hey, you made it!" Zayn shook Liam's hand. "Let me introduce you."

"This is my roommate, Lucas," Zayn motioned to a pale guy with freckles and brown hair.

Liam shook his hand. "Hey man, I'm Liam."

"Nice to meet you, Liam. Hope you are ready for some pool!" Lucas grinned.

Zayn motioned towards the guy next to Lucas, who was munching on some kind of cracker or cookie. Zayn leaned in to whisper into Liam's ear. "Whatever you do, do not take his food. He is so weird when it comes to food."

Liam looked at Zayn in amusement. "And this Niall," Zayn motioned towards a blond guy with blue eyes. "He lives across the hall from me."

Liam looked at the blond guy. He looked very familiar. "Do I know you?"

The guy looked up at Liam. "I don't think so," Liam heard him mumble through munching on a cookie, and noticed he had some kind of accent. Oh wait. Wasn't he that Scottish guy that was talking to that Harry guy? Best to not get involved. _Louis has gotta do this on his own_ , Liam thought to himself. That Harry guy may not even be the guy Louis saw.

"Are you from Scotland or something?" Liam asked.

"Ireland, actually." Niall said. "Zayn says you work at the bookstore?"

Liam nodded. "That's right."

"Cookie?" Niall handed an open bag of cookies towards Liam.

Liam looked at Zayn, remembering his warning. Zayn shook his head fiercely.

Niall saw Zayn in his peripheral vision, and scoffed. "I can share!"

Lucas laughed. "No, you can not! You almost bit my head off last semester in Professor Taylor's class when I tried to grab a M&M."

"Lads, come on," Niall said, exasperated. "I have two bags of these. The bakery got a huge order that was cancelled, and they couldn't sell all of them today. You don't want these to go to waste, now do you? I know how much you lads love my aunt's cookies."

"Bakery?" Liam asked.

"My aunt owns a local bakery with her best friend. I help out occasionally, and she doesn't mind too much when I pop in and eat the leftovers." Niall grinned.

"Gah, seriously how are you not over 1000 pounds?" Zayn asked, jealous that Niall has always been slender, even though he eats and eats, and then eats some more.

"Some kind of rapid rate metabolism. Beats me," Niall answered. "My mum says it's all my bouncy energy." Niall turned back towards Liam. "Just try one. They are just sugar cookies, but they really are quite tasty."

Liam took a cookie from the bag, and put it in his mouth.

"Holy shit," Liam moaned. The cookies were buttery and chewy with a slightly crispy edge. "My God these are so good." Liam reached for a couple more cookies.

Niall laughed. "I'll take that as you like them."


	5. Friday, June 13th

 

*** * LOUIS * ***

After an extremely long day of travel, Louis was eager to see his mum and get some sleep. Travel was so exhausting. He had finally arrived in Manchester after catching a connecting flight from London. He was waiting at the carousel for his bag when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

Louis turned around, and saw his mum smiling brightly.

"Mum!" Louis wrapped his arms around his mum tightly smiling brightly, giving her a big hug. "I've missed you so much."

"Oh, Louis, honey," his mum said. "I'm so glad you are here." His mum touched his cheeks and gave his cheek a kiss. Louis kept hugging his mum tight, as she combed her fingers through his hair lovingly.

Louis' mum wasn't sure why Louis decided to come visit all of the sudden, but she wasn't going to complain. She missed her eldest and only son desperately, and was happy with as much time as she could get. She wasn't exactly thrilled when Louis decided he wanted to go to university in America, and had hoped he would have chosen a university a little closer. However, she was immensely proud of Louis, and she knew he absolutely loved being at Princeton.

Louis let go of his mum. "Just waiting on my bag," Louis said, kissing his mum's cheek, as he turned to look at the bag carousel. 

"Isn't that it?" his mum asked, motioning towards the green roller bag coming down. "I'm not sure why you checked a bag - you still have plenty of clothes at home."

"Habit, I suppose," Louis chuckled, as he grabbed his bag. "Ready?"

Louis' mum rubbed Louis' back in soothing motions, and led him the way to her car. 

They got to the car, and Louis went to the right side of the car. 

"Did you want to drive?" his mum asked.

"No, habit, sorry." Louis shook his head, and walked to the left side of the car.

His mum chuckled. "You've been in America too long, dear."

Once they were on their way to Doncaster, his mum looked at Louis.

"It's so lovely to have you home, Louis," his mum said, patting Louis on the leg.

"Good to be home, mum," Louis replied, covering his hand over hers. "How's Dad?"

"He's great, he thinks he might be able to get next weekend off so he can spend some time with you while you are here. Maybe play some football?" His mum gave his hand another pat before she put her hand back on the steering wheel.

"Happy days! That would be fantastic. I love playing footie with Dad," Louis smiled. 

"I haven't told the girls you are coming. I want to surprise them. They are at day camp right now. Figured you could go pick them up later." His mum continued to drive.

"Sounds great. Maybe after a nap." Louis yawned. "And they are well?"

"Everyone's well, they miss you though."

"I miss them, too." Louis said softly.

"So." His mum said.

Louis knew it was just a matter of time before she figured it out.

"I'm guessing this visit isn't just because you miss us?" His mum asked, looking at her son.

"You know me too well," Louis said, smirking. "I do miss home, and I've missed everyone," Louis paused. "Just need some sorting out. Let me sleep this jet lag off first though, Mum." Louis sat back in the seat and started to close his eyes. 

*** * ***

Louis walked out to his mum's car to go pick his sisters up from their day camp, getting in on the correct side this time. His first stop was to pick up his older sister, Phoebe, who was fourteen. She resembled his mum in a lot of ways, except her hair was a much darker brown, which she got from their Dad. When Louis came out to his family, he wasn't sure if he should tell his sisters, but his mum insisted they would be supportive. Phoebe was fine with it. "Whatever makes you happy, big brother," were her exact words. 

It took Louis a few minutes to get used to driving in England again, but soon he was parking at the location his Mum said Phoebe would be waiting for him at. He saw his sister, but she was looking at her phone. Phoebe glanced at the car, and pulled the handle, and got in. 

"Hi, Mum," Phoebe said, without even looking.

"Ahem," Louis cleared his throat.

Phoebe looked up, and saw her big brother.

"OH MY GOD!" Phoebe screeched, clasping her hands over her mouth. "Louis!!!" Phoebe's phone dropped as she attacked him with a hug.

Louis wrapped his arms around his sister, with a huge smile. "Pheebs!!"

Phoebe let go of the hug to look at her brother. "What are you doing here? Does Mum know you are here?" 

"Came to visit for a couple weeks. And no, Pheebs, she doesn't know I'm here. I stole her car," Louis deadpanned.

Phoebe snorted. "Oh, your sarcasm!" Phoebe reached to hug her brother again. "I've missed you so much."

"Aww, Pheebs, it's okay," Louis rubbed his sister's back. "I'm here now."

Phoebe sniffled. "Sorry. I'm so happy you are here."

"Hey," Louis reached out to hold her chin so Phoebe could look at him in the eyes. "Don't' cry. I'm here for two weeks, and we're going to have so much fun, okay?"

Phoebe nodded, and smiled through her watery eyes.

"Let's go pick up Daisy, okay?"

"She is going to be so excited!" Phoebe said, buckling her seatbelt.

They drove for about five minutes or so, with mindless chit chat, and then parked the car.

"Where is she usually?" Louis asked Phoebe.

"They should let out in a few minutes, they usually let them come out the front doors." Phoebe said, getting out of the car.

Phoebe leaned on the car next to her brother as she caught him up with what she has been up to the past couple of months. Before they knew it, a large group of small children were coming out of the front.

Daisy was seven years old, and in her eyes, Louis hung the moon. Louis thought she was a little young to really understand the concept of "coming out," but Louis wanted to be honest. Daisy was only five at the time, but she seems to take it fairly well.

"So you like boys?" Daisy asked, when Louis told her. She pondered for a little while. "I don't. They are smelly! Except for you and Daddy. You always smell nice."

Louis chuckled at the memory. He watched as the kids dispersed in different direction to their families. Louis then saw a flash of chestnut brown hair, much like his own. Daisy looked like a younger female version of Louis in a lot of ways. They had the same hair, the same eyes. 

Louis looked at Phoebe, who had a grin on her face, who was anticipating Daisy's reaction. The crowd cleared, and soon Daisy was just a few feet in front of them. Daisy saw her sister, and then her blue eyes got really big when she saw Louis.

Louis squatted down so he could be more on Daisy's level. "Daisy!" Louis brought his arms out, so Daisy would run towards him and give him a hug.

Daisy then smiled into a toothy grin, and ran towards Louis, almost knocking him down.

"Louis!" Daisy wrapped her small arms around her brother's neck and squeezed him tight. "Louis! Louis! Louis!"

"Oof!" Louis stood up and swung her around, making the little girl giggle. Louis balanced Daisy's legs around his waist, as his youngest sister snuggled her face into Louis' shoulder, tightening her grip around Louis almost in a death grip. "I missed you, Louis."

"I've missed you too, Daise." Louis smoothed her hair back and kissed her head, wrapping his arms tightly around the little girl. 


	6. Saturday, June 14th

*** * LOUIS * ***

The next morning, sunlight was creeping through the window in Louis' old bedroom. Louis was slowly trying to wake up, as he rubbed his eyes.

"Louis?" Louis heard his mum say from where his bedroom door was opened slightly ajar.

"Hi Mum," Louis said, still rubbing his eyes.

"Brought you some orange juice," His mum said, closing the door behind her.

Louis sat up and took the glass from her. "Thanks, Mum."

His mum sat next to him, and moved his hair out of his eyes. "You ready to talk?"

Louis looked at his mum, and nodded. He took another sip of his orange juice, and placed it on the nightstand next to him, and sighed.

"Take your time, darling," his mum reassured him.

Louis rubbed his face, and brushed his hands through what was probably horrible bed hair. He looked up at his mum. "I guess I'll just start at the beginning."

Louis then began to tell his mum everything. How he froze up in front of the most gorgeous person he's ever seen, embarrassing himself with his 'oopsie daisy.' To describing the gorgeous person in detail - from the green eyes, the dimples, to the British accent. He told her how he wasn't dealing with it very well, and that he didn't understand why. Louis even told her how scared he was. Scared of seeing him again and reacting the same way again. Scared of not seeing the guy again. He didn't understand why he got shy in front of the guy - as he wasn't a shy person. His mum just let him talk - he must have gone on and on for about twenty minutes. Louis then let out a deep breath. "I think that's everything."

His mum rubbed his back. "Wow. You are so tense, sweetheart."

"I just don't know what to do, Mum," Louis said. "These feelings - haven't happened before. I can't stop thinking about the guy. I don't know what's happening, and I'm so confused."

"Louis, sweetheart," his mum said soothingly. "I'm going ask you some things, and we'll work this out together, okay? I think I know what's going on in that head of yours but let's just take it step by step."

Louis looked at his mum, hopeful. "You do?"

His mum nodded. "I'm not really sure I want the answer to this, as I'm your mum. Have you ever . . ."

Louis looked at his mum, astonishment and shock in his eyes once he figured out what his mum was asking him. "Mum!!"

"I wasn't asking _that_ , Louis. We know where your mind is, don't we?" His mum laughed. "I meant like dating or even kissing? Didn't you have a date once?" His mum asked him.

"Very little to none. Went on a couple group dates that were disastrous and boring," Louis confided in his mum. Louis normally probably wouldn't tell his mum such personal information, but he desperately needed her help. "Stan set me up with some guy the year I came out on a date. It didn't go very well. The guy was rude, a real git, and not that cute. And he slobbered."

"Let me rephrase the question a little. Has there ever been anyone you've been attracted to - prior to this new guy you recently saw?" His mum asked, gently as possible.

Louis thought for a minute. "I'm not sure. There have been guys that I thought were cute, but I guess no one has really wowed me or anything."

"This is just my instinct, Louis . . . but I think maybe the reason you are so scared is because you haven't experienced anything like this before." His mum feathered her fingers through her sons's hair. "The dating world is scary, Louis. It's so hard when you like someone, trying to approach them and you don't know if they like you back or not. Do you have any idea the butterflies I had in my stomach when I met your father?"

Louis looked at his mum, thinking about what she was telling him. "No…"

"I was a nervous wreck, Lou. I didn't know if he liked me back, and I was just crazy for him. I had doubts about whether I was good enough for him to even want to be with me. It didn't help the fact your Dad is still the most gorgeous man I've ever laid my eyes on." His mum kept soothing his back, hoping to relieve some of his tension. "Like I said, it's scary. Dating is hard enough, but when you are faced with someone you are extremely attracted to? It does a number on not only your heart, but your stomach."

Louis looked down at the bed sheet, going over what his mum said in his head. "How do you get over it or through it?"

"Well, first, you have to ask yourself if you want to put yourself out there. If it's worth it. If you can really see yourself dating that person, kissing that person, having an actual relationship with them."

"I hadn't… actually thought that far yet." Louis paused, sighing. "He's just so handsome, mum."

His mum chuckled.

Louis looked up at his mum. "What?"

"I think if anyone can make you react this way, so the opposite of your normal crazy self, well, then, I think they must be pretty darn special." His mum smiled. It warmed her heart to see her son so enamored with someone. "You're not exactly bad to look at either, darling. You take after your father."

"Isn't it crazy, though? I don't even know him. I don't know his name, or even if he's a good person. I don't know what his interests are, or what his personality is like. What is he doesn't like footie?"

"That's what you're worried about?" His mum laughed. "Whether or not he likes footie?"

Louis paused before speaking again. "What if he's not a good person? What if he's just another jerk?" 

"Of course that's possible, dear. But he could also be amazing, and perfect for you. You won't know until you try." His mum smiled at Louis.

"I'm...scared, Mum," Louis admitted. "I've never done anything like this before. Is it even wise to? I'm taking eighteen hours a semester. I'm double majoring. I work a part-time job. I don't have time for a boyfriend…"

"Louis, listen to me. You can't plan these things. Things like love and crushes don't happen when its convenient. They just happen. If it's meant to be, I know you'll make it work." His mum gave him a reassuring smile, patting his back in a circular motion.

"He may not even like me. What if he doesn't like me?"

"Darling, I know it's hard to see right now. But don't doubt yourself. I know underneath that sassy and sarcastic exterior, you have a heart of gold. I see it with how you are with your sisters. I see it when you help a stranger. Anyone, anyone, would be lucky to have you. And I'm not saying that just because I'm your mum." His mum leaned forward and kissed her son's forehead.

"I'll leave you with this to ponder on…" His mum gave him a hug, and then looked at her son's clear blue eyes. "Even if there's a tiny, tiny chance, isn't that worth going for it? Because it could be something great." 

*** * HARRY * ***

Seven days.

That's how long it has been since Harry last saw the mysterious, handsome guy at the bakery's back doorstep. 

He had hoped maybe he would see him again. But neither Ruth or Barbara had seen the guy before, or since. Nor had any of the other employees. Of course, they were also asking a million questions as to why Harry had such a sudden interest in UPS deliveries all of a sudden. Harry is pretty sure they know why, but they loved to tease him. Especially when it came to boys. 

It's not like Harry had a ton of experience with guys, so it's probably natural that Barbara and his aunt liked to tease him a little bit. He had only come out two years ago when he was seventeen. He had even dated a girl very shortly before that, and knew pretty much instantly girls were not for him. He had been on a couple dates with guys, but no one really special. No one had ever caught his eye the way the guy with the beautiful sparkling blue eyes did. The attraction to this mysterious guy was instant for Harry, and he wasn't sure what exactly to do about it.

Harry hadn't really worked since last week, except for Thursday to help out with baking a massive sugar cookie order. When he wasn't helping out with the bakery, he was doing a ton of preparation for the upcoming semester. He was also occasionally babysitting his four-year old cousin, Anna, when his Aunt Ruth needed someone to watch her, usually when her sitter was busy.

Yet Harry just couldn't get the image of the guy out of his head. The guy was just so dang cute. Ruggedly handsome, and fit. Once you added the sparkling blue eyes, the bronzed tanned skin, the biceps, the British accent, you had a very, very smitten Harry. Harry just couldn't wrap his head around the fact that the guy just seemed to close up whenever he looked up and saw Harry. Surely, the guy was used to interacting with people if he was a delivery driver. He just seemed so shy, and kept looking at the floor. Not that being shy was a bad thing, but it just seemed like an unusual trait for someone who most likely had to interact with a lot of people. Harry also thought he saw the guy blush. The whole scenario was just weird to Harry. The blue eyed guy was so cute, but Harry couldn't get that good of a look at his face because the guy kept looking down or away from Harry. Plus the fact that the guy busted out of the bakery quicker than the Road Runner in a Looney Tunes cartoon just made Harry all the more puzzled. Harry was ecstatic when the guy came back, but it was short lived when the guy got embarrassed and sped out of the parking lot. Harry couldn't help but chuckle when he thought about the guy saying "oopsie daisy," as that was just so cute. He smiled just thinking about it.

Harry wasn't even sure if the bakery was getting any deliveries today, but he hoped the guy would reappear. Maybe he only worked Saturdays. Harry sighed, as he sat down at the desk in the back office. He had a stack of numbers to call to get deposits from for pre-orders of different kinds of cakes. Mostly birthday cakes, and some baby shower pastry orders. The outsourced all of their wedding cake inquiries, for which Harry was glad. They had enough on their menu already. He was also on phone duty this morning, answering any calls that came through to the bakery. He didn't mind helping out with the "business" side of the bakery, but it could get quite tedious and boring. He definitely favored the baking side of things or helping customers in the front.

About two hours later, Harry decided to go and stretch his legs. As he stepped into the front kitchen area, the back doorbell buzzed. Harry's heart started to speed up, and he almost skipped to the backdoor with nervous excitement. Once Harry opened the door, he saw a lady there who probably was in her mid-forties. Harry frowned disappointedly.

The lady gave him a puzzled look. "Hi there, I've got some packages for you. Where would you like them?"

"Over there is fine," Harry said, pointing to the same corner he showed the guy last week.

As the lady moved the dolly into the bakery, and placed the boxes on the floor, Harry got to thinking. It was the same package delivery service, maybe this lady knew the guy. It wouldn't hurt to ask, right?

"I just need you to sign here, and then I'll be out of your hair," the lady said, handing Harry a similar tablet that Harry signed last week. Harry signed the tablet, and handed the tablet back to the woman.

"Can I ask you something? If you don't mind," Harry told her.

"Sure, kid, what is it?" The woman replied, looking up at Harry.

"Well, last week, there was a guy that delivered our packages - and I was wondering, um, if he is sick today?" Harry felt dumb as he asked the question.

The delivery woman looked at him, somewhat puzzled. The woman at the tall boy, and saw that the boy's cheeks slightly reddened. The woman grinned to herself. _Poor kid_.

"Well, I'm actually the shift supervisor, but I'm filling in because several of our drivers decided to all take their vacations at the same time," the woman told Harry. "But let me see if I can find out who it was, and what their route is." The woman tapped into her tablet, pressing a couple options. "The routes change for the drivers often, so no one really has a designated route. Some of the drivers also do package handling duty as its needed."

"Oh, okay," Harry said softly.

The woman typed in the bakery's business number, and waited for the results to appear. "You said last Saturday, right?"

Harry nodded. "That's right."

"Okay," the woman said. "Let's see here."

Harry tapped his fingers on his jeans nervously. The lady smirked as she looked at her screen.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Well, I'm not allowed to give out names, unfortunately, but I can look up his schedule." The woman looked up at Harry. "Just a few seconds, this thing sometimes loads slow."

"No problem," Harry said quietly, slightly frowning as he crossed his arms. He couldn't seem to get a break in tracking this guy down. Harry really wish he at least had a name to go by.

"Huh," the woman whispered, hoping the boy didn't hear her. "He never takes off."

The woman cleared her throat and looked at Harry. "Looks like he put in a request for two weeks off last Monday."

"Oh," Harry frowned.

"His request was approved Wednesday, and his vacation time started Thursday." The woman looked up at Harry, feeling bad for the boy. She pondered for a second before she started to speak again. "A lot of people take vacations this time of year, it being summer and all. It looks to me that he mostly does residential, but occasionally does the business route, which is probably why he got you on his shift. He's a part-timer, but I'll see what I can do to get him on your route again once he gets back."

Harry looked up and smiled. "You'd ... do that?"

"I can't make any promises, as I'm not his direct manager, but I'll do what I can."

"Thanks," Harry grinned sheepishly.

"No problem, kid," she said, turning to leave. "Have a good one."

*** * ***

"Harreh!" The bell above the front door to the bakery chimed later that afternoon and in came Niall, practically dancing. 

"Hey, Nialler," Harry said, chuckling lightly. He did not know where Niall got his energy. 

Harry was wiping down the counter and displays with a wet cloth. "Whatcha doing here?"

Niall pranced around to behind the corner and gave Harry a hug.

"Aww," Harry said, hugging him back. Niall was definitely a hugger.

"Aunt Barb asked me to come fill in while she runs some errands," Niall told Harry, releasing him from the hug.

"Oh, sweet," Harry said. "I can get a head start on making the dough for the scones."

"Did we get all those sugar cookies sold?" Niall asked.

"What sugar cookies?" Harry couldn't recall what he was talking about.

"Oh, that's right you left early," Niall said. "You know that huge order of what was it, two hundred sugar cookies?"

"Yeah, the ones I helped Barb with for that wedding shower I think?" Harry asked.

"They cancelled the order," Niall told Harry.

"What!? They still paid for them, right?" Harry asked, astonished someone would put in such a large order in to just cancel it.

"Thankfully, yes. They were pretty apologetic and paid for the full order. Just another reason why Barb and Ruth require a fifty percent deposit on all orders."

"Yeah, I know. I spent most of the morning calling people to get deposits for cakes," Harry finished wiping the counter down. "What happened to all the cookies?"

"We gave away some as samples, tried to sell some. I ended up taking a ton to pool night," Niall told him. 

"Oh yeah, how was that?" Harry asked, trying to look interested.

"Fun. The cookies were a hit, of course. You should join us sometime. I think you'd like the lads that come. Get to know some people before you start next semester," Niall offered.

"Sure, that sounds cool," Harry started to organize the display case, distracted, only half listening to Niall.

Niall frowned. "You okay?"

"It's nothing…" Harry said, very unconvincingly.

"Harry," Niall said, putting his arm around Harry's shoulders. "What is it?"

Harry looked down at his foot. "That guy… hasn't shown up."

"What guy?" Niall looked at Harry, who was blushing just slightly. "Oh. OH! That guy!"

"I don't know why I'm reacting this way. I'll probably never see that guy again. He was just so gorgeous, Niall." Harry leaned on the counter and rubbed his face. 

Niall looked at Harry. "Wow, you've got it bad."

Harry looked up. "What? No, no, that's not it."

Niall patted Harry's shoulders. "Harry, you are my favorite lad. But sometimes you just can't see what's right in front of you."

"And what is that, Niall?" Harry rolled his eyes, and grabbed the wet cloth to start to wipe down the tables in the back of the store.

Niall walked behind Harry. "That you like this guy."

Harry scoffed. "You can't like someone if you don't even know who they are. I don't even know his name."

"You are so stubborn!" Niall told Harry, when the front door bell chimed as some customers came in. "You wouldn't be this upset if you didn't like him, Harry."

"Just admit that you like him," Niall whispered in Harry's ear, a few seconds later, giving Harry's shoulders a pat, and walked toward the counter to greet the customers.

Harry rolled his eyes at Niall. Maybe Harry had a tiny little crush, but that was it. Maybe he should just try to forget about the guy. There's not much Harry could do without a name, anyway. If it happens, it happens.


	7. Friday, June 26th

*** * NIALL * ***

_Two weeks later…_

Niall was munching on a cookie behind the counter as he sat on a stool watching the television in the corner. An episode of Friends was on, and he was laughing. 

The door to the bakery opened, and Ruth entered with her daughter, Anna. Niall quickly hid the cookie as fast as he could.

"Hi, Niall," Ruth said, with her hands on her daughter's shoulders, leading her into the bakery. "You know you don't have to hide the cookies."

Niall grinned sheepishly. "Hi, Ruth. Hi Anna!"

"HI!" Anna said, waving to Niall. "Where's Hawwey?"

"He's in the back - "

"Anna Banana!" Harry exclaimed, arms open, appearing from the back of the bakery. 

"Hawwey!" Anna jumped into Harry's arms. Harry spinned his cousin around before placing her on his hip. 

"Muah," Harry gave Anna a kiss on the cheek, and Anna squealed. Niall chuckled. He had to admit Harry was pretty cute with his little cousin.

"Harry, are you sure you don't mind watching her?" Ruth asked.

"Ruth, go, have fun, it will be fine. Niall's got the front, don't you Niall?" Harry turned towards Niall, who had shoved a couple cookies in his mouth. 

Harry raised his eyebrows at Niall. "Mate, seriously!? You just had lunch!"

"Hey! It was a very light lunch, I will have you know, and sometimes I get the munchies!" Niall scoffed, crossing his arms across his chest. He could barely eat anything these days without someone breathing down his neck. What was the big deal? So he liked food. 

"Anyway, Ruth - as long as Niall here stops shoving his face, we will be fine. Barbara and Margaret are in the back kitchens anyway. Anna here is going to help me bake some treats! Won't that be fun, Anna?" Harry grinned at Anna.

"Treats? What kind of treats?" Anna clapped her hands.

"Well, let's see…" Harry said, walking towards the back kitchen, Anna still stuck to his hip. "We can make cupcakes or brownies or cookies…"

"I should only be half an hour or so, Niall," Ruth said, gathering her things. 

"I got it, Miss Ruth, don't worry!" Niall shooed Ruth towards the door with his hands.

"Okay, see you soon. Don't eat all the cookies," Ruth said, winking at Niall before exiting.

Niall was starting to get full, so he wiped his mouth with a napkin and called it a day on the cookie eating. It was kind of a slow day, so Niall turned up the volume and little and sat back to watch. _That Joey is sure funny_ , Niall thought. _I don't like to share food either!_

Fifteen minutes later, the bell chimed, signaling a customer coming in. Niall muted the volume on the TV in the corner with the remote and turned towards the customer.

"Hey, man," the customer said, looking surprised to see Niall there. "Niall, right?"

Niall looked up and recognized the guy from pool night a couple weeks ago. "Hey! Liam, right?"

"That's right. Do you work here?" Liam asked.

"Oh yeah, this is the bakery I was telling you guys about," Niall motioned to the bakery around them.

"Oh really? That's awesome. I actually was in here a few weeks ago, I believe it was, with my roommate. He's British so he loved this place." Liam told him.

Niall arched his eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, think I got a bruise from him yanking me in here so fast when he found out about the British tea." Liam laughed.

"Understandable, tea is not really the same here in the States. Was there something you'd like?" Niall asked.

Niall didn't know Liam that well, but he knew that Liam worked with Zayn at the off-campus bookstore, and Zayn seemed to think he was a cool guy. 

"Well, here's the thing. My roommate went home for two weeks and is coming back today. He's been having kind of a rough patch lately, so I wanted to get him something. He really loved something he bought here, but.." Liam cringed. "I wasn't paying attention at the time and I have no idea what it is he got."

"Yikes. Well, that's not much to go on. Does anything look familiar to you?" Niall motioned towards the display case.

Liam looked at all the pastries and breads and he shook his head. "There was a lady here that was helping us. Maybe she's here and she might remember?"

"Well, it was probably either my aunt or Ruth. They are the only ladies that really help out with customers. All the other ladies help out in the back with baking and orders," Niall explained. "Was she blonde or brunette?"

Liam thought for a second. "Brunette. She was definitely brunette."

Dang it. "I'm so sorry, mate, but she just left and won't be back for fifteen more minutes or so. You can wait around if you want, or you can keep looking to see if something starts to look familiar."

"I don't mind waiting - "

All of the sudden, a huge crash was heard from the back.

"Excuse me a second, Liam." Niall held up a finger and got up to peek in the back to see what was going on. He saw Harry and Anna on the floor with about a dozen pots and pans on the floor.

"QUIET!!!!" Niall said loudly, over dramatizing his exasperated tone. "I am trying to WORK here!" Niall always got a kick out of teasing around the bakery. He heard Harry and Anna giggling as he turned back to Liam. "It's just so hard to get good help these days."

Liam chuckled. "It's fine, dude. I can wait. I don't need to leave for another half hour anyway," Liam explained to Niall, sitting down on one of the chairs.

"Cool. Are you going to the backyard party next Friday? The one Zayn is throwing? It should be awesome!" Niall sat down at a table across from Liam.

"Oh definitely! I wouldn't miss it. Zayn's July 4th parties are always a blast."

"I can't wait for the sparklers and the cook out," Niall was already excited for the party. "A friend of mine just transferred here for the fall, so I am going to try to get him to come."

"Sure. The more the merrier!" Liam pondered. "Maybe I can get my roommate to get off his lazy ass and come too." 

Niall looked up as some customers started to fill in. "Back to work for me. There's some newspapers and magazines over there - help yourself," Niall told Liam, pointing to the counter next to the utensils. "Ruth should be back soon though."

"Cool," Liam said, as he went to browse the reading materials available.

Niall spent the next ten minutes or so helping customers. Some wanted coffee or tea, while others wanted bread or a muffin. Then there were those that just wanted something sweet - like some of Barb's cookies or one of Harry's scones. Before he knew it, Ruth appeared at the front door.

"How did it go Niall?" she asked, smiling.

"Not too bad, but a customer has a question for you." Niall motioned towards Liam, who was engrossed in the sports section of the newspaper.

"Oh, sure, let me put my stuff down and check on Anna real quick," Ruth hurried to the back.

"Hey, Liam," Niall called to Liam as Liam poked his head up from the paper. "Ruth is back, she will be with you in just a minute."

"Oh, fantastic." Liam folded the newspaper and returned it, before walking towards the front counter.

"Hello dear, what can I help you with?" Ruth asked once she reappeared from the back.

"Yes, I was in here several weeks ago with my roommate - "

"Oh, I remember you. And the young man from Doncaster, was it?" Ruth asked, hoping she got it right. She usually remembered most of the British customers that walked through the bakery's doors.

"Yes, that's right," Liam told her. "You wouldn't happen to remember what he ordered? I wanted to get him some, as he really liked whatever it is he got, but I wasn't listening when he ordered."

Ruth smiled sweetly at Liam. "You are in luck, dear. I remember exactly what he got, because I suggested it to him."

Liam beamed at Ruth. "Fantastic!"

"I suggested my nephew's scones to him. They are very popular. I believe your friend got the strawberry. We also have blueberry, and peach." Ruth looked into the display case where the scones were. "And chocolate chip!"

Liam pondered. "Let's do strawberry, blueberry, and chocolate chip."

Ruth opened the display case. "I'm hoping I can get my nephew to do gingerbread ones for the holiday season. He made them for our family Christmas last year, and they were just divine."

"You should try one of the scones, Liam. They're really good," Niall offered.

"Here, why don't I get you a sample and see what you think," Ruth boxed up the scones for Liam. "Niall, will you cut up one of those chocolate chip ones into sample sizes?"

"Sure thing," Niall got a small plate and put toothpicks in the sample sizes of the chocolate chip scone, as Ruth rang up Liam's purchase.

"Here you go, mate, see what you think," Niall handed Liam the sample of the scone pierced through a toothpick, as Liam signed his credit card receipt. 

Liam tasted the scone. "Hmm, not too bad. Very chocolatey." Liam picked up the box of scones Ruth had prepared for him. "Thank you so much for helping me. I really appreciate it."

"No problem at all, dear. I hope he likes them!" Ruth grinned at Liam.

"Great to see you, man," Niall gave Liam a fist bump. "Hope to see ya Friday!"


	8. Monday, June 30th

*** * LOUIS * ***

The two weeks home was just what Louis needed. Between just being able to relax, hanging out with his sisters and old mates, to playing football with his Dad, Louis was finally starting to feel the tension ease off. He even got a professional massage. His conversation with his mum really did help. He's still not sure what he would do if he was to face the handsome stranger again, but he promised his mum he would at least try. He knew this kind of thing didn't happen every day - and he would be crazy if he didn't at least try. This is all considering if he even saw the guy again.

And he meant it, he really did. Louis knew he was chickening out. He had texted his boss and put in a formal request to be put on floor duty when he returned, which basically meant moving boxes all day. It definitely exercised his "guns," as Liam called it. He was avoiding the situation, he knew it. He knew he shouldn't, but his nerves just really got the best of him at times.

He also had to make up for all the days he missed of work, so the probability with his increased work load got him nervous. He was working most of the week this week, except for Friday & Sunday, of course. Friday being Independence Day for America, and they were closed Sundays. He was needing to work some more hours anyway, since he wouldn't be able to work very much once classes started in September. He took a bite of the remaining blueberry scone that Liam had gotten him when he returned. When Liam gave him three scones from the British bakery on the town square, Louis may have squealed in excitement. He only had one left, as he pretty much devoured the others on the spot when Liam picked him up from the airport. He didn't know who made these, but they were heaven in his mouth. Liam was just too good to him - best roommate ever. Most of the time, anyway. Liam kept up with Louis' sass, and that alone deserved a medal. Not everyone could handle Louis and his _unique_ personality. Which probably was another reason he was a little apprehensive about the whole guy situation. Louis could come across brash and uncaring, and sometimes even came across as just a tease. Not everyone could get beneath that exterior to really understand the real Louis. Yes, Louis was sassy, but it was never mean spirited. 

Louis started to make himself some tea before he headed off to work. Customs pretty much gave him quite the eyeful when he tried to get so much tea back into America. So he may be a little obsessed with tea. But international postage was expensive, so this way, he was really just saving his mum money. Once the tea was done, he poured it into a mug, and then he was on his way to work.

*** * ***

After a couple hours of moving around boxes on the floor, packing up trucks, Louis was called to see one of the shift managers. Louis thought that was strange as none of the superiors ever had issues with him. In fact, everyone at work loved Louis. 

Louis knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice said through the door.

"Hey Janice," Louis said. "You needed to see me?"

"Hey Louis. Have a seat," Janice pointed to one of the seats in front of her desk. "How was your vacation?" Janice was a nice woman, who was probably in her forties. He didn't really have much interaction with her, but they were always friendly with one another.

"Great, thanks."

"You rarely take your vacation time," Janice stated.

"Well, you know, missed the family." Louis wasn't sure were this conversation was going. Janice wasn't even his direct boss. A few moments of silence passed. 

"Um Janice? Did you need something or are we just going to stare at each other?"

Janice chuckled. "Oh, Louis, you are a rarity. This is off the record, by the way, this conversation."

"Okay…" Louis tapped his fingernail on the armrest. _Get to the point lady! I don't have all day._

"I do have a point, I promise." Janet paused. "So you know a lot of people asked for vacations last couple of weeks, so some of the managers had to pull double duty."

"Oh, I'm sorry . . ." Louis said, apologetic. Was she guilt tripping him or something?

"No, it's complete fine, it is not a big deal. The reason I called you in was because I had a very, shall we say, _interesting_ conversation with an individual on one of the routes I covered." Janice arched her eyebrow at him, hoping Louis would figure out what she was implying.

"Okay?" Louis rolled his eyes. So what? What did this have to do with him? "You know, Janice, as absolutely _fascinating_ as I'm sure your conversations with package recipients are… I do have work to do."

"Louis, is there a reason you specifically requested floor duty this week? You haven't done floor duty in a month or so," Janice asked Louis, looking at the computer screen in front of her. "We thought you liked the driving shifts."

"Um, I do. . . just thought I would change things up a bit. You know, life isn't fun without some variety, right?" Louis laughed awkwardly, trying to avoid Janet's stare.

"So, it has nothing to do with the possibility of avoiding the Town Square route, would it?" Janice asked, smugly, crossing her arms.

Louis looked up at Janice, astonished. _How would she know that!?_

"How do you know that?" Louis whispered.

"I told you I had a point. Calm down, you're fidgeting." Janice pointed to Louis' hands, which were drumming nervously on his legs. "Like I said, there were some shifts to be covered. I went to one business, in Town Square, and the person there, let's just say, really wanted to know about you."

Louis could feel his face going pale, as he gulped, before he could barely speak above a whisper. "What did he say?"

Janice smirked. "Well, he seemed very disappointed when he opened the door and saw me. I didn't know what to make of it at first, but then he asked me where you were. I didn't know who he meant at first, until I looked it up." Janice paused, as she looked back at Louis, who was now fidgeting with his hair nervously. "I didn't give him your name, as that's confidential information. The boy seemed pretty sad about that."

"Why are you telling me this?" Louis looked up at Janice.

"Look, Louis, you are one of our best workers. I know you bring everyone on this team a positive morale because of your let's say - _special_ humor skills." Janice felt bad, as she really didn't mean to bring Louis down with this conversation. She hadn't thought about the fact that Louis was obviously struggling with something personally. "I just want you to know whatever it is you are feeling or giving yourself a hard time about, I'm pretty positive that in regards to the other party, the feelings are mutual."

Louis glanced at the floor, trying to sort out what Janice was telling him.

"I'll give you floor duty the rest of the week. But next week you're going back into the random route assignments."

"Thank you," Louis sighed, before exiting Janet's office.


	9. Friday, July 4th

*** * HARRY * ***

  _ _

Harry hated to be late. If he timed it just right, he could make it on time. He was supposed to watch his cousin while his aunt and uncle went out to see a movie. Harry had promised his aunt a couple weeks ago, and completely forgot when Niall had asked him to come to a backyard cookout party that Niall's friend Zayn was throwing. He hated to miss it, because it sounded like a lot of fun. He was on the highway, driving towards the address that Niall gave him, because he had just enough time to pop in and say hello, maybe eat a little something, and get back to his aunt's to watch Anna. Harry's phone started to vibrate, indicating that had a new message. Harry had just exited, and was at a stoplight, so he looked to see what the message was.

**Niall** Don't forget to bring the leftovers!

Niall had pestered him countless times to not forget the bakery's leftovers for the day. It wasn't that much as the bakery was pretty busy today, as Fridays usually were. It was just an assortment of cookies and various pastries. 

**Harry** Got them. Should be there in 5.

A few minutes later, he found the house with a lot of cars parked around the neighborhood. Niall said that it was the house of Zayn's parents, and they had a huge backyard, which was perfect for these kinds of parties and get togethers. Niall said he usually held several during the year. It wasn't too far from campus, about fifteen to twenty minutes, but you definitely had to drive on the highway to get there. Harry grabbed the bag of desserts, got out and turned to lock the car door. He quickly checked his reflection in the window, because he knew his hair had a tendency to go awry. He had gelled it back this morning, and he hoped the sides of his hair had cooperated most of the day. His curls like to spring forward, and sometimes no matter how much product he put in, the curls had a mind of their own. When he didn't see anything that had gone astray, he made his way towards the house. There were signs and arrows leading the way through the main hallway of the house towards several open patio doors that faced the backyard. 

Right before Harry got to the backyard, he heard a whimper. He looked down, and saw a little dog. 

"Aww," Harry leaned down to pet the dog, who was wagging its tail briskly. "Aren't you cute?" The dog was brown and white with floppy ears. The dog was so soft and fluffy, and Harry couldn't help petting the pup. Harry grinned down at the dog, and before he knew it the dog was jetting out to the backyard, barking away. Harry chuckled as he looked to see where the dog was going, and then was startled at what he saw.

"What.." Harry murmured. He moved to the side so he couldn't be seen. There were a group of about five guys sitting in chairs, by the side of a large swimming pool. The group of guys weren't doing much, just chatting and drinking beer. It was the guy in the middle that made Harry gasp. The guy sitting in the backyard looked exactly like the UPS guy. He couldn't mistake that, right? Tanned skin, slender, muscular arms. The guy's hair was in a beanie again, though. If this was the same guy, maybe he had some aversion to showing his hair. He noticed some tattoo doodles on his arm, but he couldn't recall if they were the same. It had been almost a month since Harry had last seen the guy, and some details were getting fuzzy in his memory. The guy was wearing a simple black tee with a graphic or picture of some kind on it, that slightly showed his collarbones. And Harry spotted some letters in a script design on the guy's chest. _Damn, that's hot_ , Harry thought to himself. He didn't notice a chest tattoo on the guy a few weeks ago, but it could have been covered up by his clothes. That day was such a blur now to Harry, despite obsessing over it almost daily. The guy also had quite the scruffy facial hair going on. Harry bit on his bottom lip. _Mmph. Could this guy get any fitter?_

Harry didn't mean to keep watching, but he just couldn't help himself. He knew he needed to go say hello to Niall, drop off the baked goods, and get out of there or he might be late. The guy he was watching just seemed so different than the person he saw several weeks ago. This guy was very animated, and was joking and laughing with his friends. He occasionally would stop to take a sip of beer from a clear bottle. Harry started to bite his lip, as he watched the guy take a drink of his beer. Harry shook his head. He needed to get his mind out of the gutter. Harry was very confused, but he really didn't have the time to contemplate what he was seeing. He saw a blur of blond to the left side of the backyard, next to a table of food. Of course.

Harry walked toward Niall, as Niall noticed him coming over. Niall was talking to another guy, who had a slight dark complexion, possibly from some kind of Eastern decent. 

"Harry!" Niall exclaimed, giving him a hug.

"Hey, mate," Harry told him, patting Niall back.

"Oh, Harry, this is Zayn," Niall introduced them. "He works at the off-campus bookstore."

"Oh, cool," Harry replied.

"Hey, nice to meet you," Zayn said with a smile, shaking Harry's hand.

"You, too, great place," Harry told him. "Sorry I can't stay long."

"It's all good," Zayn said. 

"Harry is my best lad - he just moved here from back home. His transfer got accepted at Princeton." Niall told Zayn proudly.

"That's fantastic - congratulations! You'll love it here." Zayn beamed.

"Thanks! I'm so excited," Harry grinned. Harry suddenly felt something on his leg. He looked down and he saw that the dog from earlier was wagging his tail, and it was thumping against Harry's leg. "Well, hi again." 

"I see you've met Trixie! She's super friendly," Zayn told him.

"Hi, Trixie!" Harry leaned down and rubbed Trixie behind her ears, as the dog lapped up the attention.

"They are grilling hot dogs and burgers over there. Pick one up before you leave, ok?" Zayn pointed behind him where they were dishing out hot dogs and burgers with all the fixings. "Very nice to meet you, but time for me to mingle!"

Harry stood up from petting Trixie as his stomach started to grumble. Niall laughed, giving Harry's shoulder a pat. "Come on, lad," Niall motioned Harry to follow him. "Let's get you something to eat."

"Oh, Nialler, here," Harry handed him the bag of desserts.

"Oooh, fantastic! What did you bring?" Niall asked.

"Large assortment of cookies, several brownies, and some tarts I think." Harry told him, as he eyed the hot dogs grilling. "Not that much, sorry, but we were packed today."

"No, this is great, Harry. Let me go set these out," Niall told Harry. "Get yourself a hot dog or a burger."

Harry helped himself to a hot dog, and some crisps. He looked at his watch, and noticed that he needed to leave very soon.

"Gotta leave soon?" Niall reappeared, as Harry was throwing away his plate.

"Yeah," Harry frowned. "Sorry, mate."

"It's all good," Niall said, giving Harry a quick goodbye hug. "Oh there's Liam. Tell Anna hi for me okay?" 

"Will do," Harry told him, as Niall walked towards another guy, greeting him with a wide smile. 

Harry started to walk back towards the house. He saw Trixie prancing around again, and the dog made him think of the mystery guy again. Before he got to the patio doors, he paused, and looked back to see if the guy was still in the same spot. He was, chatting animately to everyone around him. Harry couldn't make any sense out of it. Why was he so quiet towards Harry if he wasn't shy. The thought made Harry sad and he slightly frowned. The guy locked eyes with Harry for a split second, right has Harry turned to walk towards his car. Harry couldn't dwell on it. He had responsibilities to get to and if he didn't get a move on, he was going to have a very furious aunt. 

*** * NIALL * ***

Niall was chatting with Liam when he heard a booming and frantic loud voice.

"Oh God," Liam sighed, shaking his head.

"LEEUM!!!!" The voice almost screamed.

Liam turned to Niall. "I apologize in advance for my roommate. He's a little bit of a drama queen."

Niall chuckled at that. Then the voice got louder, and soon a guy was rushing toward Liam, panting.

"LIAM! LIAM!"

"Dude, I'm right here. Must you always yell?" Liam asked him. 

The guy paused, out of breath. "Woah, I am out of shape."

The guy seemed like any other regular guy to Niall. He noticed he had some tattoos. But he was definitely British. Northern England, maybe? Too bad Harry had just left, he would definitely know, as Harry was from that part of England.

"You know, if you came to the gym like I suggested that wouldn't be a problem - " Liam started to say before he got interrupted.

"Shut it! I don't need your lip right now. I'm having a _situation_!!!" Niall couldn't help but laugh, as Liam was quite right, this guy definitely had a flare for the dramatic.

"Dude, you are being rude. This is Niall - " Liam motioned towards Niall, as Niall put up a hand in a wave.

"Yeah, ok. Are you quite finished?" The guy put his hands on his hips.

Liam rolled my eyes, mouthing "drama" to Niall. 

"Go ahead," Liam replied.

"The. Guy. Was. Here." 

"Are you sure?" Liam arched his eyebrows in surprise.

"What do you mean, am I sure? No, I made it up!" The guy put his hands up in the air, emphatically. 

"Ok, sassy. Go on." Liam took a sip of the drink in his hand.

Niall wasn't really sure what was going on, but this guy was kind of entertaining, so he just listened.

"I was chatting up with some of the lads and drinking beer, and I saw him. I swear I saw him look at me. He looked kind of sad now that I think about it. Then he disappeared. I went outside to try to find him, and I didn't see anyone."

"Are you sure it wasn't just your mind playing tricks on you?" Liam questioned. 

"Liam, I know what I saw. It was the same tall, green-eyed curly haired guy."

Niall chuckled. That sounded like Harry. 

"The same one I can't stop thinking about. The same one I froze up and embarrassed myself in front of. The same one I haven't been able to stop thinking about for almost a month now. _The_ guy, Liam."

Niall looked at the guy suspiciously, looking back and forth from Liam to his roommate. 

"I can't believe I blew this yet again," The guy groaned.

"Well, at least you didn't embarrass yourself this time," Liam said.

"There's that. If I ever say 'oopsie daisy' again, you have my permission to slap me." The guy covered his face with his hands.

Niall eyes widened. _Holy shit!_

"Excuse me," Niall muttered, getting pale in the face. He noticed Liam look at him oddly, before he turned around and dug his phone out of his pocket.

**Niall** Styles. You got a minute?

**Harry** What's up, Nialler?

**Niall** That guy you keep going on about . . 

**Harry** What about him?

**Niall** What does he look like?

**Harry** Did I not tell you?

**Niall** No, you just went on and on how fit and dreamy the guy was.

**Harry** Little shorter than me. Tan. Slender, but muscular. Hair was lighter brown than mine, but it was in a beanie so I didn't really get a good look at his hair. Had a couple small tattoos on his lower arm. Blue eyes like the sea … 

**Niall** Is there a sick bucket emoticon?  

Looking at the guy talking to Liam, Niall started down the checklist in his head. The guy was tan, and from the looks of it he was definitely a couple inches shorter than Harry. His hair was covered up by a beanie, so he couldn't check the hair. He just needed to know what color eyes this guy had. He hadn't noticed earlier.

Niall shrugged his shoulders. _What the hell._

Niall walked back to where Liam was chatting with the fellow, and then stood in front of the guy, basically checking out the guy's eyes. The guy stopped mid-sentence and looked at Niall very oddly.

"Um… okay..."

"Hmm," Niall said under his breath, and walked away with his phone in hand, and saw he had a new message from Harry. That guy's eyes were definitely blue.

**Harry** Think I actually saw him at that party today, but I'm not sure.

**Niall** Wait - you did? Why didn't you say hello to him?

**Harry** I was about to be late, and you know I hate being late. I can't irk my responsibilities because I have some little crush.

**Niall** "Little" crush. Sure, Harry. Keep telling yourself that.

**Harry** Anyway the guy at the party was the complete opposite of the guy I saw. He wasn't shy at all - seemed pretty outgoing. So I don't know if it was him or not. Or maybe he has a twin.

_Hmm._ Niall shrugged again, and walked back over to where Liam was. Liam was giving him a very odd look, and Liam's roommate was faced away from Niall. Niall tapped the guy on the shoulder, and the guy turned around.

"You don't happen to have a twin, do you?" Niall asked him.

"Um.. no." The guy was looking at Niall very strangely, before turning toward Liam. "Who's the weird leprechaun?"

"Hey! Not everyone from Ireland is a leprechaun!" Niall stormed off, but couldn't help overhear some of their conversation.

"Seriously, who is that guy?" Niall heard the guy ask Liam.

"Dude, you just met him not even five minutes ago. That's Niall, I introduced you to him. He's cool," Liam sighed. "Look, I know you are freaking out right now, but could you please just tone the diva down and try to be nice? Go get some of the desserts or something."

"Fine," Liam's roommate said exasperated, before heading towards the dessert table.

Liam walked over to Niall. "Niall, man, I'm so sorry about that."

"It's fine," Niall cleared his throat before looking at Liam. "I think we may need to talk. But not here. Do you want to grab some coffee tomorrow?"

Liam sighed. "Yeah, I think we do. What's your number?" They exchanged numbers so they could pin down details later. 

Liam's roommate, who's name Niall still did not know, came back. 

"Liam, you've got to try some of the desserts. They are delish." The guy said, as Niall noticed the napkin in his hand with some of the desserts that Harry had brought. How ironic. "Do you know who brought the brownies?"

"You know, Niall actually works at that British bakery you like," Liam told his roommate.

The guy looked up and perked up at Niall. "Really!?? I love that place. Only been there once really, but holy shit, those scones." 

"Those brownies are actually from the bakery," Niall told the guy.

"Well, they are fantastic. But those scones - I don't know who makes them, but they are just a slice of heaven or something." The guy started to take another bite of brownie.

"Actually, my best mate makes them. He actually dropped off a lot of those desserts. He was here earlier, but he couldn't stay and had to leave." Niall gave Liam a knowingly look.

"Oh, that's too bad," Liam's roommate said.

Niall just shook his head. He looked at Liam, who was chuckling silently. Liam looked at Niall, and gave a motion over his head, mouthing "whoosh." Niall grinned at him, nodding, because he agreed with Liam, as this guy was so oblivious. The guy clearly couldn't connect the dots and what was right in front of him went right over this head.


	10. Saturday, July 5th

*** * LIAM * ***

"Hey, Niall," Liam greeted the happy Irish blond boy the next day. He and Niall had agreed to meet the following day after Zayn's outdoor party, when it became pretty clear they had more in common than what met the eye. It also pretty much confirmed to Liam what he had suspected all along - that Niall definitely knew the guy Louis couldn't shut up about.

"Hey," Niall said, sitting across from Liam at the coffee shop. "Before we get started about why we are here, I was hoping maybe you could give me some background on yourself, if you don't mind."

"Liam?" a voice called.

"Oh, there's my coffee," Liam told Niall. "Be right back."

"Niall?" another voice called as Liam sat back down, and Niall went to get his coffee.

"This crap happens all the time," Niall said, returning to the table, showing Liam is coffee cup. On the cup, "Nile" was written in black marker.

Liam chuckled. "Don't feel bad, dude," he told Niall as he showed Niall his coffee, where they had scribbled "Leeum."

Liam took a sip of his coffee before starting to speak. "There's really not much to tell. I grew up in Arizona, always did good in school. I ended up doing really well and getting a small scholarship. I figured I would apply to some Ivy League schools just to see, and once I got accepted at Princeton, it was really a no brainer. I'm majoring in Engineering. I'm about to start my third year here."

"I'm about to start my second year. I haven't declared yet, but I'm leaning towards architecture," Niall sipped his iced mocha through his straw.

"Cool," Liam told him. "Anyway, I was assigned to Hamilton Hall freshman year, and I've had the same roommate ever since." Liam wasn't sure if he should say Louis' name. 

"I'm in Madison Hall, that's not too far Hamilton. I'm actually across the hall from Zayn."

"Oh, that's right, he is in Madison," Liam replied.

"And… your roommate. Is he a good person?" Niall asked, somewhat uncomfortably.

"Look, Niall. I'm going to just lay it all out. What you saw yesterday was his freak out mode. He gets very mouthy and hysterical when he freaks out or when he is upset," Liam paused. "But I promise, he's a good guy. He can be quite the little shit at times, and he's sassy, sarcastic, and the dude drives me crazy quite often. But the guy has a heart of gold. He can keep you laughing in stitches, and he's always there for you, good or bad. His family is one of the most important things to him, and he misses them all the time. He's on the phone to his mom at least one or two times a week. He's a good person, I promise. It's just that he doesn't deal with some things well, especially things that are out of his element."

Niall smiled. "Well, I grew up in Ireland, obviously. My mom's Irish, and my dad's British. When I was fourteen, our family moved to England, to a place called Cheshire. My aunt lived there at the time, and my Dad wanted to be closer to family. All of my dad's family lives there - aunts, cousins, grandparents. That's when I met... my friend. Our aunts are best friends. Our aunts then moved here when we were about sixteen to open the bakery shop. A year later, he came out. I wasn't very surprised, because I think part of me knew already. He's my best friend, and we both wanted to go to Princeton together. He was devastated when he had to postpone his dreams for a year when his dad got sick --"

"Is his dad okay?" Liam asked.

"Yeah, it was just a minor health scare, thankfully. He had been taking classes in England while I was in my freshman year here. Once his dad got a clean bill of health, he applied to Princeton, and his aunt suggested he move out here to help out with the bakery," Niall paused for a second before continuing. "I'd do anything for him, so I hope you understand that I'm a little cautious. I just don't want him to get hurt, that's all. It's nothing personal, mate." 

"No worries, man. I feel the exact same. My roommate was already out when I met him, and it never really bothered me. More ladies for me, if you know what I mean." Liam nudged him.

"That's one way to look at it!" Niall chuckled.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to go first with what I know," Liam told him, and Niall motioned for him to continue. "As you know, I work with Zayn at the off-campus bookstore. About a month ago, I guess it was now, my roommate barged into where I was working. He was acting much like he was last night, in fact. Except last night he was much calmer than this particular day. I had to pull him into the back break room that day because he was being so loud and wouldn't calm down. He was so frazzled, and tell you the truth, I don't think I have ever seen him that bad before. He then began to tell me this story about how he went pretty much mute because he saw some gorgeous guy that made him melt or something. My roommate is not usually quiet. Or shy. At all. But for some reason, seeing this guy just made him panic or something. He kept going on and on how he embarrassed himself. He was really tearing himself up about it, to be honest." Liam paused to look at Niall. "Is this sounding familiar?"

"Sure is. But do continue," Niall told him.

"At first I just wanted to help him. Anyway, the next day at the store, I am pretty sure I saw you guys. I was folding tees and I overheard some of your conversation and the guy that you were talking with matched the description my roommate gave, and curiosity got the better of me. I apologize for eavesdropping," Liam told him, looking guilty.

"It's fine, lad," Niall reassured him. "I honestly don't remember you being there, but I was just shopping with him. He wanted a Princeton tee shirt, I believe. I had just shown him around campus after he had a meeting with an advisor -"

"Oh, he got in?" Liam asked.

"He found out about a month ago that he got in. He's so psyched," Niall grinned.

"Oh man, that's great!" Liam exclaimed. "I'm sure he will love it here. Well anyway, like I said. I got curious."

"Okay," Niall replied, wondering where this was going.

"So I asked Zayn to give me his name if he checked out at the register," Liam looked at Niall, sheepishly. 

Niall chuckled. "That must have been when I got distracted by the snack section. He had to come fetch me because I was drooling over candy bars."

"You sure like food, huh?" He asked Niall.

Niall shrugged his shoulders, nonchalantly. 

"So am I right in thinking that your friend's name is Harry, right?" Liam asked Niall.

"Yeah, it's Harry." Niall nodded.

"So, I'm not really proud of this. It didn't do me any good, because I couldn't even locate the guy using the internet and then Zayn asked me if I was gay."

"Why did he ask you that?" Niall laughed.

"I may have asked him what color your friend's eyes were." Liam said, embarrassingly. "I was just trying to see if the whole description matched!"

"So kind of like how I looked at your friend's eyes yesterday?" Niall asked Liam, amused. "Because I had texted my friend to describe the guy to me, and wanted to double-check everything?"

"Yeah, kind of like that!" Liam laughed to himself. "I mean that's pretty much it. After that, I figured I would just stay out of it. Let him handle it on his own. He went home to England for two weeks, and I know his mum talked to him about it. He seemed to be in better spirits about the whole thing," Liam paused, sighing. "But I know he's avoiding the situation. We went to play soccer the other night, and one his friends from his work played with us, and he told me that my roommate actually requested a different shift when he got back from England. It's not like him to really hide from situations, which probably means he must really, really like your friend. Add that to the fact that the guy can't even read blatantly obvious clues, and it's just a messed up situation."

"Well, my version of the events is pretty much the same. Harry's mostly kind of sad about it, because he's very attracted to who I guess is your roommate. He's been frustrated that the guy hasn't come back yet. He seemed pretty depressed when I texted him after I got home from the party last night." Niall looked concerned.

"How come?" Liam asked.

"Harry saw him at the party last night before he had to leave, most likely before your roommate even noticed Harry, and seemed distraught because he seemed so different than what he was like when he first encountered the guy. Harry just seemed off. He doesn't seem to know why someone who was outgoing was so shy around him. He even thought maybe the guy had a twin," Niall laughed.

"Oh, is that why you asked that?" Liam said, amused. "That makes more sense now."

Niall's iced mocha was empty now. "Gah, I really need to take a wee. The dorms are too far away."

"There's not any restrooms here?" Liam asked.

"No, but I know a place that does that's close."  

*** * HARRY * ***

Dressed in a bright pink tee shirt, black shorts, and neon yellow trainers, Harry felt great. A good run was just was he needed. He had a headband on to keep the hair out of his eyes, and he had tied up the rest of his hair up in a hair tie. He was definitely in the need of a shower to rinse away all the sweat. He was extremely grateful that his aunt let him live in her completely independent second floor flat. They had used it mostly as a guest house for visitors, but Ruth had told Harry it was his to live in when he moved here. It was a pretty sweet deal, as it was completely furnished. As long as he helped out with the bakery at least once a week, it was her way of thanking him. Ruth had even told him that they were thinking of hiring someone because they were in need of extra help, particularly on Saturdays. Once Ruth found out that Harry applied to Princeton, she suggested that he come help out with the bakery for awhile until he found out if he got accepted by Princeton or not. Harry loved to bake anyway, so Harry gladly accepted his aunt's offer. He thought the flat was way too much, but his aunt wouldn't take no for an answer. Plus, he got to spend a lot of time with his cousin Anna, whom he adored. So it wasn't a bad deal, not a bad deal at all.

He jogged up the steps to the second floor, as he got his keys out and opened the door. Once he stepped inside and closed the door, he found a very gleeful Irishman on his couch, laughing hysterically at something on the television.

Harry, with his hands on his hips, started to scold Niall. "What do you think you are doing?"

Niall obviously didn't hear him come in, as he jumped at the sound of Harry's voice. "Oh. Harry," Niall grabbed the remote to mute the television. "Um, aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Normally, yes, but I don't go until noon today," Harry told him. "That key was for emergencies, Niall. Is this why my pantry keeps getting raided?"

Niall grinned, quite guiltily. "Um, have no idea about that, lad. Maybe you have a mouse."

"Bet that mouse likes Irish cheese," Harry muttered, as he wiped his sweaty face down with a towel from the linen closet. Harry then heard a laugh behind him, and turned around to see someone sitting in the armchair. "Niall, who is this? I'm seriously going to take that key away from you. You can't invite people I don't know up here. If you have had girls up here I swear - "

"Chill out, mate! It's just Liam." 

"Who?"

"Oh, I guess you guys didn't meet since you had to leave early. He works with Zayn," Niall explained.

Liam leaned out and shook Harry's hand. "Nice to meet you."

Harry nodded. "I'm Harry. Sorry I'm a mess, I just got back from a run."

"No worries, man," Liam replied.

Harry threw the towel in a hamper, and got a bottle of water out of the fridge. "Look, Niall, I've got to hit the showers and get ready. You've got to hightail it out of here soon, lad."

"Aw come on, Harry! Can't you visit for a little bit?" Niall whined.

"No time. Oh, but I do have a great new knock knock joke. Wanna hear it?" Harry grinned widely. 

"NO! No, no, no! Absolutely not," Niall screeched.

"What? Why not?! It's really good!" Harry promised.

"Lad, I'm sorry but you are such dork with your jokes! They are horrible! Just horrible." Niall turned to the Liam guy. "They are so bad."

"Well fine then," Harry said, walking towards his bedroom.

"Listen dude - I really have to go. I have to be at work soon too," Harry heard Liam say. "Nice to meet you Harry!"

"You too!" Harry called off, slipping his shoes off.

"So, mate, don't you want to know about Liam?" Niall called off towards Harry.

"You already told me - he works with Zayn," Harry called back, getting some clothes out of his closet. Niall was acting quite strange, even for Niall.

"You don't want to even know about his roommate?" Niall asked excitedly, as Harry walked to the living room with clothes in hand.

"Niall, why would I want to know about your friend's roommate? As absolutely riveting as this conversation is, I've got a body to wash and places to be," Harry said, walking towards the back of the flat to the bathroom to shower.

After Harry finished with his shower, he pulled on some blue skinny jeans, and put a black tank top over his head. He then added a very sheer black mesh jumper. Harry considered just putting a beanie over his head, but decided against it. He grabbed some hair product and ran it through his hair, and decided that it looked good enough. When he finished getting ready, Harry came out of the bathroom, and noticed Niall was still there.

"You're still here?" Harry asked, grabbing some boots and sitting next to Niall.

"Liam's roommate is the guy, Harry," Niall said seriously, staring straight ahead.

Harry was pulling up his boot onto his foot when he paused, letting Niall's words sink in. "W-what?"

"Remember when I texted you all those questions about him?" Niall asked.

"Yeah, so?" Harry responded, pulling his boot all the way on.

"It was because I was talking to Liam then, and this guy came to talk to Liam, who was Liam's roommate -" Niall trailed off.

"So?" Harry shrugged his shoulders, reaching for his other boot.

"It's just that their conversation made me think it might be that guy. Harry, your description matched him perfectly." Niall turned to look at Harry, who had finished putting on his boots. "I met up with Liam earlier today and we talked.. Harry, his roommate.. it's him." 

Harry stood up and grabbed his wallet from the side table.

"Harry?" Niall looked at Harry, wondering why he wasn't responding. Harry wished he didn't care. But after seeing the guy at the party, Harry was pretty hurt. The only conclusion Harry could come up with is that there was something about Harry that the guy didn't like. The realization made Harry's heart ache, as he was just so damn attracted to the guy. 

"Doesn't matter. I'm not doing this anymore," Harry shook his head, grabbing his keys. "It's obvious he doesn't like me. Lock up when you leave."

And with that, Harry was out the door, climbing down the stairs, determining not to care. 

*** * LOUIS * ***

Louis couldn't help but think back to the afternoon before. It was the day after Zayn's party, which had been a blast, and Louis had just finished his short shift for the day. Saturdays could either be long or short, but thankfully Louis only had some residential deliveries to do that morning. He knew he was just buying time before he eventually got stuck with the commercial route again, and was quite surprised he was given the residential route. Then again, before he ran into the beautiful green eyed dimpled guy on that one day on the business route, he probably had been stuck on the residential route for weeks. It really was just a random draw - it could be weeks before he got the commercial route again, or just days. 

The party had been a blast. He got to spend some time with some lads he hadn't seen in a long time. Lots of laughing and having a good time, plus there were firework sparklers, as well as a fantastic cookout. He had been sitting with some friends, with Louis being the sassy jokester, per his usual self, when he saw him. He's not sure what made Louis look up, maybe he got the feeling someone was looking at him. When he looked up, he was met with those beautiful green eyes again. Except, this time those green eyes were sad. He couldn't get those eyes out of his head. In a blink of an eye, though, the guy was gone. Louis even got up quickly to try to find him, but no one was out in the front that he could see. Louis knew he was being pretty hysterical, but he just couldn't believe his luck that he missed another opportunity. 

As he got into his car, his thoughts drifted back to the party, and those wonderful desserts that came from that British bakery. He was really craving one of those scones right now. Louis wasn't sure exactly where that bakery was, just knew it was somewhere on the Town Square, as he and Liam just stumbled across it that one day. Maybe he should have paid more attention. He was even having trouble thinking of the name of it. Something bakery, obviously. He didn't have anything else to do, so he drove over to the Town Square, and figured he would just walk around until he found it. 

After parking in the parking lot, he walked about half a mile until he found it. _The Queens Bakery, that's right_ , Louis thought. The shop looked a little dark, but the hours said they were open, so he went inside anyway. Louis noticed there was a sign on the counter that said, "Emergency Maintenance, Be Back at" with a clock pointed to about 30 minutes later. Louis was kind of curious why the door was unlocked if they are having some kind of maintenance issue, but he was just filling time anyway, so he went and sat down at one of the tables. He could easily wait half an hour for those delicious scones - well worth the wait in his opinion.

Louis decided to take a closer look around the bakery - it was very British, with lots of teas, decorations, and wall art. He looked at the wall next to the tables, and saw it that there was some kind of collage of photos. He stood up and browsed the photos. Some of the photos were of various places in London, as well other places in England he recognized. Some British and Irish flags, stickers to various football teams. Louis didn't see one for the Doncaster Rovers, though, which was very unfortunate. Most of the wall, however, was covered in personal photos. He looked at the different photos, and just saw what looked like happy family pictures. He noticed one picture and recognized the Irish guy from last night. Liam did say that guy worked here, and that his friend was the one that made the scones. Louis looked around at the other photos, and saw one was overlapping another picture, so he pulled it out slightly to look at it. It was a cute picture of what looked like a graduation photo of a girl with brown hair, with what Louis guessed was her mom, and - holy shit! The person on the girl's other side was _him_. Green eyes sparkled back on the photo with dimples dented into his cheeks He was even cute in pictures. But what was he doing in a photo on the wall of this bakery? _Oh wait_ , Louis thought. This bakery is one the same side of the square that he stopped at that one day. Could it be that the beautiful guy worked here? The place wasn't labeled in the back, so he wasn't sure what the business was that he delivered to. It could have been a bakery. That day was such a blur that Louis couldn't tell you what the inside even looked like, as he sure hadn't noticed.

Breaking him from his thoughts, Louis heard a small giggle, and looked up. A little girl was peering from the other side of the counter next to the display cases at the front of the store, and looking at him, giggling. She then disappeared back behind the counter, before reappearing, looking at Louis with big doe eyes, giggling. It looked like the girl wanted to play a game. The little girl was precious with long brunette hair tied into two braided pigtails. She looked at Louis with her adorable big brown eyes. The little girl looked to be a several years younger than Daisy, and was cute as a bug.

"Anna! Where are you?" a voice asked from the back, as the little girl giggled some more.

The little girl peered out again and looked at Louis, and put a finger in front of her lips, motioning Louis to be quiet. Louis chuckled to himself, as the girl obviously had a love for the game of hide and seek. Louis turned back to the wall of photos to see if he could find any more pictures. Louis must have been concentrating pretty hard, because he didn't hear anyone else around until he heard tiny footsteps prancing towards him.

"Anna, no!" Louis vaguely heard a voice in the background exclaim.

"HI!!" the little girl exclaimed as she stopped to the side of where Louis was.

Louis looked down at the girl, who was very eager to say hello. "Hello there," Louis chuckled, before he heard a voice.

"I'm so sorry. She doesn't have many boundaries yet - " Louis heard a familiar voice say, as he saw two arms pick up the little girl. Louis looked up and was met with a certain person with green eyes and brown curly hair.

"It's.. you." All Louis could see was curly hair that was slicked back, green eyes, and dimples he knew that were hiding. Louis also noticed that the guy was wearing was some kind of mesh jumper, and Louis could somewhat make out some tattoos on his shoulders. _That's so hot_. Louis couldn't really tell what the tattoos were of, maybe letters?

"Hawweh, you should get him something to eat. He looks hungry. Are you hungry?" The little girl asked, her little arms wrapped around the guy's neck. "I'm Anna!!"

"Anna!" The guy hissed. "What has your Mom told you about talking to strangers?" 

"He's not a stwanger, he's a customer," The little girl, who Louis assumed was Anna, argued. Louis chuckled at the little girl. She was pretty adorable.

"It's fine, really," Louis said, turning to face them directly. 

"Anna, why don't you go find your mom, okay?" The curly guy said, setting the little girl down on the floor.

"You work here?" Louis asked, somewhat confused, as the girl trotted off to the back.

The guy looked at Louis puzzled, crossing his arms. "Yeah.. it's my aunt's bakery. Don't you remember?"

"The back entrances aren't usually labeled, I honestly have no idea who I deliver to when I do the business routes," He told the guy. Louis looked at him oddly, as the guy seemed kind of stand-offish. He wasn't nearly as friendly as he was before. What was going on?

"Oh.. okay." The guy looked at the floor, before continuing. "I don't mean to be rude, but how come you are talking to me now? You barely even said two words to me before." Louis looked up into his eyes, that seemed to have the exact same sad expression as he saw yesterday. _Oh crap_ , Louis thought. This gorgeous guy thought Louis didn't like him. _I'm so stupid!_

Louis pulled on his hair in frustration slightly. "Oh, no no, that's not it. I'm sorry. I'm such an idiot. I'm not usually… like that. It's just ... you're really cute and handsome, and I guess I just froze up."

Louis saw him look up quickly and started to grin, dimples starting to pinch his cheeks. "You think I'm cute?"

"Um, maybe…" Louis trailed off, blushing, figuring it would be best to change the topic. "I'm Louis, by the way. And I guess you're 'Hawweh'?"

"Harry," Harry chuckled at him, eyes sparkling, which may or may not have been Louis' imagination.

_Harry. Finally a name to go with that beautiful face._

"I actually came in to get some scones, as I'm quite addicted to those things. Though it looks like you are having some maintenance issues?" Louis asked, scratching at his facial hair, that had several days growth. Louis was just glad he looked pretty decent today, as his hair was clean, and his facial hair was trimmed. He even ditched the usual beanie, as he was having a pretty good hair day. He had gelled up the front and slightly up and to the side, a style that was fairly easy and quick to do.

"Oh yeah, just some plumbing problems. So you like the scones?" Harry asked him, grinning.

"They are amazing. Never had any so perfect, to be honest." Louis' stomach started to growl.

Harry motioned towards the front of the bakery, as Harry walked towards the display cases. "Well, thanks for the compliment."

Louis looked at Harry, confused. "The compliment really goes to whoever makes them - "

"Yeah, and that would be me," Harry stated, amused.

" _You_ make the scones?" Louis asked. "But I met someone yesterday that said their friend made the scones here."

"Let me guess, cheerful Irish lad that is addicted to food?" Harry asked.

"Well, maybe not that cheerful because I may have called him a leprechaun.." Louis thought out loud.

Harry giggled softly, smiling. He had such a gorgeous smile with those dimples. "Yeah, Niall. Our aunts own this bakery."  

"Oh, awesome," Louis said, as he looked at what Harry was doing. Harry was behind the display cases, and he was turned around getting a small box. 

"What are you doing?" Louis asked him, trying not to check out Harry's very attractive backside, that was trapped into some very tight jeans. _How does he fit into those? That can't be comfortable._

"Getting you some scones," Harry stated, as it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But I didn't tell you what kind I wanted," Louis said.

"It's a surprise," Harry looked over his shoulder, and winked.

_Christ_. Louis was pretty much done for already, but now Harry had winked at him. Louis might as well just melt on the floor. He didn't even acknowledge the fact that Harry was putting several varieties of scones in a box. Harry had turned around again to tape up the box, Louis guessed, before he handed Louis the box.

"Here you go," Harry smiled at him, cheerfully.

"What do I owe you?" Louis asked, reaching for his wallet.

Harry shook his head. "On me. Don't worry about it - "

"But-"

"Harry!!" A woman's voice rang out from the back of the store.

"Gotta go," Harry said, disappointment in his face. "Nice to officially meet you though. Don't be a stranger." Before Louis could reply, Harry gave him a quick wink, and disappeared into the back.

Louis sighed, exited the bakery, and walked back towards the direction of his car. Once he got to his car, he leaned towards it and let out a breath he didn't know he was even holding. There was no doubt in his mind now that he was definitely head over heels for this guy. Harry was so just cute, beautiful, and just so charming. Not to mention sexy. It was one thing to just be attracted, but Harry also seemed like a genuinely decent guy. At least that's what he thought from the few minutes he just spent with him. He hoped it wasn't just his heart talking, and that Harry was a genuinely good guy. He didn't want to fall for a jerk. He felt awful when he figured out the reason Harry was so sad, and he was disappointed in himself as could be such an idiot at times. Liam was always saying how oblivious he could sometimes be. Louis definitely would have to come back here, especially since he was in such a trance he forgot to even ask for a phone number. At least he got a name. _Harry_. It was an improvement, at least.   

Once he got back to his dorm room he shared with Liam, he opened the box of scones. Laying on top of the scones was a small note. Louis picked up the note to read it, and smiled and let out a giggle. Louis covered his mouth with his hand, even though no one was around. On the note was a phone number that was signed "Harry." _Wasn't he a sly one_ , Louis thought.

Louis looked underneath the note, and saw that Harry had filled the box to the brim. There were so many varieties in there he almost wanted to do a little dance. There were at least three blueberry ones, which were becoming his favorite. Louis took a bite of one of the blueberry scones, and then got his phone out of his jeans pocket. Louis groaned at the taste of the scone as he started to compose a new text message.

**Louis** Do all of your scones come with a phone number?

**Harry** Only if the scones think you're cute.

**Louis** Good thing I only text random numbers that I find in bakery boxes from cute scones.

**Harry**  

**Louis** So, how does one get a recipe for these scones?

**Harry** I'm afraid it's not available, secret family recipe and all.

**Louis** That's unfortunate. Probably for the best, as I can't cook and all.

**Harry** It's more baking than cooking.

**Louis** Whatever you say, Harold.

**Harry** It's actually Harry. 

**Louis** Okay, Harold.

**Harry** Fine, Lewis.

**Louis** Touché.

Louis was definitely smitten, trying not to blush through his goofy grin. He decided he should text Liam. 

**Louis** His name is Harry. He makes those sinful scones.

**Liam** I know.

**Louis** What do you mean you know? Of course you know, I just told you.

**Liam** Yeah... I actually figured that out about a week ago.

**Louis** What!?? And you didn't tell me?

**Liam** It wasn't my place to intervene. Plus I wasn't 100% sure until this morning.

**Louis** What happened this morning?

**Liam** Compared stories with Niall... also met Harry briefly.

**Louis** Some mate you are!

**Liam** Don't get your panties or knickers or whatever you call them in a twist. If I had told you, you would have freaked out. You weren't ready, Tommo. You have to admit that.

Louis hated to admit it, but he knew Liam was right. Louis hated it when Liam was right, which was actually more often than not.

**Louis** Fine .. but you are on my list! Thin ice, Payne, thin ice!

**Louis** … So you met him?

**Liam** Like I said, very briefly. He's basically your wet dream.

**Louis** Isn't he dreamy?

**Liam** Dude, no. I like the ladies.

**Louis** Sorry, mate. He's so fit, though. He gave me a full box of scones for free, and he slipped his phone number inside.

**Liam** That's cause he likes you, doofus.

**Louis** I don't know if I'd go that far . . .

**Liam** Just trust me on this one. He likes you. As much as I don't want to stroke your ego even more, you are a catch and he'd be lucky to have you. 

**Louis** Thanks, I guess?

**Liam** You didn't hear that from me.

**Louis** Of course I didn't, I read it.

**Liam** Always the smartass.


	11. Wednesday, July 9th

 

*** * HARRY * ***

** **

It had been a few days since Harry had officially met Louis, and Harry was pretty sure Niall was going to slap him if he mentioned Louis' name one more time. Harry may have been gushing about the handsome face with the shining blue eyes, that he now finally had a name to, nonstop. Harry couldn't help it if he was a little over the moon. 

Harry had started that Saturday like any other, but he was still a little down because he didn't think the guy he had been romanticizing over the past month liked him. Seeing the person he couldn't stop thinking about at that party so the opposite of what he had displayed towards Harry made Harry doubt everything. When Niall said that he had become friends with the guy's roommate, Harry just didn't want to deal with it. He didn't want to be rejected, which was what he was positive was going to happen. Turns out Harry was wrong, very wrong.

Maybe Niall was right in that he didn't always see what was right in front of him. It had been so obvious for others to point out that the reason Louis had been quiet was because he was attracted to Harry and liked him. Harry just felt that Louis was so extremely attractive that he was out of Harry's league. So when Louis told him that he was handsome, well Harry just couldn't help grinning. His cheeks hurt from his dimples pressing into his cheeks so hard from smiling so much.

"Harry," Harry heard Niall say in the background. Niall was working at the bakery, but Harry wasn't on the clock that day. Harry agreed to come by the bakery when Niall asked him to keep him company earlier. Wednesdays were mostly devoted to baking phone orders, as the actual bakery didn't do that much business inside the store typically on Wednesdays. With Barbara and Margaret in the back kitchens working away, Niall was a little bored keeping watch.

"Harry." Harry was staring at the photos on the wall, not paying attention to Niall. He kept replaying the interaction he had with Louis in his head, oblivious to what was going on around him.

Unbeknownst to Harry, light footsteps walked towards him. All of the sudden, a small hand hit him in the back of the head.

"Ow!" Harry exclaimed, finally looking up to see who his assailant was. 

"Will you stop daydreaming and give your sister a hug?" Harry looked up, mouth open in shock, to see his sister Gemma standing in front of him, with her hands on her hips with a cheeky grin on her face.

"Gem!" Harry leaped out of his chair and attacked his sister with a large hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I had some business to do in New York, so I thought I'd come surprise you," Gemma smiled at her little brother. "I've missed you!"

"I've missed you so much," Harry said, giving Gemma another hug. "What happened to the purple hair?"

"Got tired of it, figured I'd go blonde for a little while," Gemma replied.

"Aww!" Niall cooed, as he walked over to the two siblings. "I missed you too Gemma!" Niall squeezed his way into their hug.

"Nialler!" Gemma laughed.

"Picture time!" Niall exclaimed, getting his phone out to take a group picture of the three of them. Niall stood next to Gemma, who was next to Harry. They all wrapped their arms around each other and smiled at Niall's phone.

"So Harry," Gemma said as she smoothed her dirty blonde hair down her back. "When I told Mum and Dad I was coming to New York, they wanted to come too."

Harry looked around. 

Gemma chuckled at her brother. "So…"

"No fucking way!" Harry exclaimed, covering his mouth when he realized what he said. Thankfully, there were no customers around.

"They are at the hotel getting settled. We thought we'd all go out to dinner tonight," Gemma told him, wrapping her arm around Harry's shoulders.

"How long will you guys be here?" Harry asked.

Niall cleared his throat, and Gemma looked at Niall and nodded.

"Right. So I have a few things to do in New York Friday, but after I told them I had family here, they said I could take off for a week or two. And then when I told Mum and Dad…"

"Gem, spit it out already!" Harry exclaimed, as he couldn't stand the suspense, and knew Gemma was stalling on purpose.

Gemma's brown eyes looked back at Harry, beaming at her brother. "We're all going on vacation! To DC, the four of us!"

"What!?" Harry almost shouted. "You're joking!"

"Think of it as your 'Congrats on getting into Princeton' present." Gemma started to jump up and down, and Harry joined her, grabbing her hand. Harry then stopped abruptly.

"Wait - what about the bakery? I can't abandon Aunt Ruth…"

"Taken care of, mate," Niall interrupted.

"I called Niall a few days ago. He's going to cover your shifts, so you don't have to worry about the bakery. Everything is all set," Gemma told Harry.

"Niall, are you sure?" Harry looked over at Niall. "You don't have to do that mate!"

"Harry, you haven't seen your family in months. You see me every day. Go. Have fun," Niall waved Harry off.

"Let's go take a walk, Harry," Gemma said, nodding towards the door to the bakery. "We've got some catching up to do."

"We do?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"We sure do," Gemma winked, as she raised her eyebrow at Niall. 

"Niall!" Harry exclaimed, figuring out that Niall must have spilled the beans about Louis to his sister.

"I'm sorry, okay! You were driving me crazy. I had to tell somebody!" Niall admitted.

"Come on," Gemma told Harry, as she pulled him towards the exit.

*** * LOUIS * ***

Louis exited the doors from the post office and walked quickly to his car, after he had picked up a package his mum had sent him. It was most likely more tea, but sometimes his mum would send him an assortment of things she thought he would like that were exclusive to the UK. The post office was pretty busy this late in the afternoon, so he had to park near the small park that faced the post office. He unlocked his car, and put the package on the passenger seat, and as Louis was about to get into the driver's seat, he spotted something in his peripheral vision that made him take look up.

What Louis saw looked to be someone that looked an awful like Harry. There was a wide concrete path between the post office and the park that eventually led out to the main street, which is where he swore he saw Harry. Harry or his look-alike had brown curly hair that was the same length as Harry's hair, and he was the exact same exact build as Harry. They finally shifted their face slightly to the left, and there was no denying that it was Harry. He knew that dimple anywhere. His hair was pulled back in a multicolored silky headband or scarf, one of the items Harry seemed to loved to accessorize his hair with. He had on a white tank top or tee that was covered by a simple blue and white plaid shirt with the sleeves cut off. Louis' car door was open ajar as Louis stood behind the door, and was fixated on the figure that he knew to be Harry. Harry was walking down the path, and as Louis was about to call out to him to get his attention, Louis noticed something. Harry's arm was around someone's shoulders, and someone else's arm was around Harry's waist. Louis gripped the door to his car tightly, and gulped nervously as his heart began to race. As Harry walked past, Louis couldn't tell who the person Harry was walking with. They came up to about Harry's shoulders, and as Louis looked once again, he noticed it was a girl with blonde hair. A _girl_.

Louis' mind started to race. What he saw couldn't be right. Harry liked guys. He was sure of it. Louis definitely didn't have any stake on him or anything, but he thought Harry might like him. Did he read the signals wrong? Why would Harry give him his number if he didn't like him? Why did he feel like he was about to be sick? It wasn't until both figures had disappeared completely from Louis' sight that he was able to sit down in the driver's seat. _No, no no. Please no_. Louis leaned down and pulled on his hair, frustrated. Due to the afternoon heat, Louis was getting too hot to sit outside, so he closed the door to his car once he got in. Louis turned the ignition and turn on the air conditioning to get some cool air flowing through his vehicle. This obviously wasn't just a crush if Louis was reacting this way. Just whoever that was seemed awfully close to Harry. Louis wanted to be the one that got to wrap his arms around Harry's shoulders. Why did that _girl_ get to? It's nothing. It was nothing. Then why was Louis fuming with jealousy?

Louis was sweating. Whether it was from the heat or the reality of the situation, he did not know. He looked at his phone, and saw he had missed a message from Liam.

 **Liam** Come to the rec room in Butler! We're playing video games and might play some pool later. 

 **Louis** Who is "we"?

 **Liam** Me, Zayn, and Niall

Niall. Maybe Louis could find out who that girl was from Niall. As he thought more and more about it, the more jealous Louis became. For his own sanity, he hoped Niall would have some answers for him. He knew by the time he met up with the boys, he would be downright pissy. He knew he shouldn't let himself get so worked up about situations he couldn't control, but he never seemed to be able to. Louis knew he had no hold on Harry. They had only just officially met. But Louis just felt this pull towards Harry, and had hoped Harry had felt it too. Louis wouldn't be able to hide his disappointment if Louis turned out to be wrong.

After cooling off temperature wise, Louis buckled his seatbelt, and sent Liam a quick text before he put the car in reverse and headed to the dorms.

 **Louis** I'll be there in a little bit. Gotta drop some stuff off at the dorm.

*** * ***

By the time Louis got the rec room, Louis was pissed, frustrated, and mad. He slammed the door open to the private room where the guys were playing video games, and sat down on the large leather couch next to Liam with his arms crossed. He sat his feet on the table in front of the couch, huffing loudly.

"Lou?" Liam asked, taking his eyes off the large television in front of them to look at Louis. Louis knew Liam could read him pretty well by now, and trying to hide something from Liam was pretty much impossible. Louis just started at the wall furiously, acting like the wall had some kind of personal vendetta against Louis.

Liam could see that Louis wasn't going to budge. "Hey guys, why don't we take a small break after this game?"

"Sure, Li," Zayn replied, as they went back to the game.

Louis just sat there fuming at the wall, tapping his foot and breathing in a very angry manner. Once the guys finished their video game, Zayn and Niall left to go upstairs to get some pizza from the food court.

"What's going on, Tommo?" Liam asked, putting down his controller.

Louis didn't say anything. Liam scooted closer to Louis, touching his shoulder. "Lou?"

Louis flinched, and moved his arm briskly from Liam. "Do not touch me!"

"My my, aren't we a testy one?" Liam laughed, poking Louis in the arm.

"Liam, fuck off! I'm not in the mood!" Louis barked at Liam.

"Okay, okay," Liam put his hands up in defeat. "I'll behave. What happened?"

Louis sighed. "You know that park by the post office?"

"Yeah."

"Mum sent me some more tea, so I went to go pick it up--"

"Are you even allowed to go into the post office? Being a rival of UPS and all," Liam laughed at himself.

"Liam," Louis said sternly, rolling his eyes at Liam. "Will you not?"

"Sorry," Liam replied, cringing at how delicate he had to be with his words when Louis was in this kind of mood. "Go on."

"Anyway, I got back to my car, and --" Louis squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to imagine Harry with some girl's arms around him again.

"And what?" Liam asked, seeing Louis clinch his hands into fists. "Dude, what's going on? You seem really angry."

"I saw Harry," Louis said, opening his eyes, and fixating his vision on the wall again.

"So? What's the big deal-"

"With a _girl_ ," Louis spitted out, disgust evident in his tone.

"So? He's gay," Liam said, skeptical at what Louis was trying to tell him.

"Is he? They looked pretty chummy with their arms around each other," Louis said, still fuming with jealousy, as he crossed his arms again and sat further back in his seat.

"You're jealous!" Liam looked at Louis, a smiling creeping up on Liam's face.

"What are you smiling at?" Louis barked.

"Louis Tomlinson, jealous. I thought I'd never see the day," Liam chucked.

"This isn't funny! Is my pain funny to you?" Louis was just getting madder by the second, and Liam wasn't helping.

"I'm sorry, dude. It's just odd to see you like this. You are in real deep, aren't you?" Liam asked rhetorically.

Louis didn't answer, just continued to sit there with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. He heard the door open, but didn't bother to look at who it was. Louis just looked at the floor.

"Hey Niall," Liam said, scooting back to the other side of the sofa. "Can we ask you something?"

Niall went to sit in between Liam and Louis on the sofa, placing his paper plate on the table in front of the TV.

"Sure," Niall said, grabbing his slice of pizza and taking a bite.

"Harry is gay, right?" Liam asked.

Niall turned towards Liam confused. "Um.. yeah, obviously."

Liam raised his eyebrow at Louis, who was still looking at the floor, who wasn't budging from his jealous stance. Realizing Louis wasn't going to say anything, Liam looked back at Niall before he started to continue.

"Louis here seems to think he's with a girl, as he saw Harry walking with a girl today," Liam told Niall. 

"That's impossible, Harry wouldn't do that," Niall said, twisting the cap of his bottle of water open. 

"It was him, I know it was," Louis whispered. "I know those dimples."

"What did this girl look like then?" Niall rolled his eyes.

"I didn't see her face. Blonde, she came up to about his shoulders. Their arms were around each other," Louis replied, looking at Niall.

"Do you remember what was she wearing?" Niall asked.

"What does that matter?" Louis looked at Niall, confused. "Something purple, I think?"

Niall coughed and put his water bottle on the table. All the sudden he was looking down with his hands covering his mouth slightly, and was laughing. 

"What's so funny?" Liam asked.

"So let me get this straight. You thought the girl he was walking with was some romantic interest?" Louis noticed that Niall was trying very hard not to laugh.

"I don't know, maybe," Louis said, looking at Niall confused. "I don't really know what to think."

"You're _jealous_ , of --" Niall started cackling. Niall couldn't control his laughter anymore, and started to slap his leg he was cracking up laughing so hard.

"What is so god damn funny!!??" Louis yelled at Niall. 

"I'm sorry mate, but you seriously have nothing to worry about," Niall told him, trying to control his laughter. Niall covered his mouth trying to hold in his continued laughter.

"I honestly don't see how this is funny, Niall!" Louis was starting to get quite agitated at Niall.

Niall reached in his pocket and grabbed his phone. He browsed to his photos and found the picture he had taken with Harry and Gemma earlier that day. Once he found the photo, he handed his phone over to Louis.

"Is that the girl you saw?" Niall asked.

Louis took Niall's phone from him and looked at the picture Niall had his phone open to. Louis saw a picture of Niall, a blonde girl, and Harry. The girl came up to Harry's shoulders in the photo too, and all three of them were smiling brightly. Harry was wearing the same clothes he saw him earlier in, and Niall had on same outfit on as well. Harry looked so cute in the picture. He wondered if he could get Niall to send it to him.

"Possibly. Who is she?" Louis cringed, almost not wanting to know.

"Louis, Louis, Louis...That, my friend, is.. Harry's sister." Niall chuckled again, taking back his phone from Louis. 

"Sister??" Liam asked.

"Yeah, she came in and surprised Harry earlier. She has some business to do in New York, and came down to visit him for a couple days. His parents came too, they are out at dinner right now actually."

"Sister!" Louis hit his forehead. "Of course…" Louis shook his head.

"You've got it bad, mate," Niall said, returning to his slice of pizza. 

"Well, I feel quite stupid," Louis said.

"Well--" Liam started to say, before he got interrupted by Louis.

"Not any more lip from you, Payne!" Louis pointed to Liam. "I'm embarrassed enough, thank you!"

"Aww, come on, Louis, it's not that bad!" Niall exclaimed, as he moved a little closer to Louis.

"Agggh!" Louis squealed, as Niall reached for his armpits and started to tickle him. "No! No, don't, Niall!"

Louis squirmed until he got out of Niall's grip, leaving the sofa in a hurry. "I'm going to find Zayn. You two are just assholes!"

"We love you too, sweetums!" Liam laughed, as he made kissing noises as Louis left through the door.


	12. Tuesday, August 12th

*** * HARRY * ***

_ A month later… _

"Nialler!" Harry banged on the door to Niall's dorm. "Come on!"

It was Tuesday afternoon, and Harry had agreed to meet Niall at his dorm before they went off to the bookstore to get their books for the semester. Niall already had an account there set up, so his were already waiting to be picked up. Niall told Harry he'd go with him to get Zayn to help him out with getting his books and account set up.

"Hang on!" Niall yelled through the closed door. "So impatient!"

It wasn't that Harry was impatient, it was that he had so much to do before the semester started. Advisor meetings, several orientations, campus tours, to little details like getting his food plan setup and getting his parking pass. Yesterday, he was able to get IT to get his email and login set up. Harry was nervous about classes starting. He was super psyched, of course, but this was the big leagues. And not just any league, the Ivy League. He had no idea what his life was going to be like in a few months. Harry always had been a good student, but the potential work load had him apprehensive. He had asked Niall how bad it was, and Niall's best advice was to always keep organized. Every class, every book, every lecture, every study session, every exam. Without an organization system, you could sink really fast.

"I'll be blunt, mate," Niall had told him. "Princeton is sink or swim." Niall had full confidence in him though, as Niall knew Harry could do it. Harry had always been a slightly better student than Niall was, and if Niall could pull off Princeton, he knew he could too. Even with that said, it still did nothing to calm his nerves. Harry was going to be a wreck the first day of classes, he was sure of it.

The door finally swung open, and a drowsy Niall appeared.

Harry smirked. "Did you just get up?"

Niall rubbed his eyes, waking up. "Yeah, lost track of time and went to bed late." Opening the door, Harry slipped past Niall into the dorm.

"What were you watching this time?" Harry asked him.

"This wicked golf tournament!" Niall grinned, cheerfully remembering the highlights.

Harry looked around at the dorm room, noticing it was half empty.

"Where's what's his face? I still haven't met him yet," Harry wondered.

"Daniel?" Niall asked. "He's still in Michigan with his family. He won't return until the day before classes."

"Isn't that cutting it kind of close?" Harry asked. "Classes start in just a few weeks."

"He's always the last one back and the first to leave," Niall said, walking towards a mirror to do his hair. "I don't get it. The lad is alright, just not very personable. Odd guy. I honestly don't even see him that much when he is here, being as most of these dorms are partitioned." 

"You know you're always, well, mostly always welcome at my place," Harry said, remembering the other day when Niall made himself at home using his "emergency" key.

Niall put some gel in his hair and was styling his hair up. "It's cool, mate. Zayn's usually just across the hall, too. There's plenty of cool people on this wing. Daniel is just a little unusual. He won't even acknowledge you if you accidentally call him Dan. He will only go by Daniel." Niall washed his hands in the tiny sink, before grabbing his wallet and keys. "Alright, Harry, let's go get us some books!"

Once they got to the bookstore, Niall walked right up to the Information Desk.

"Can I help you guys?" A young lady with a nice smile asked.

"Hey," Niall winked. "Could you page Zayn Malik? We have an appointment."

"We do?" Harry whispered.

Niall shook his head. "No, I just like having a little fun with Zayn."

A couple minutes later, Harry saw Zayn come down the stairs, rolling his eyes.

"Appointment, my ass, Horan," Zayn said.

"Come on, Zayn, I thought you might want to feel special," Niall said, grinning cheekily.

Zayn turned to Harry. "Hey Harry. What brings you by?"

"I actually need to get my books, but I'm not sure how to get started." Harry motioned around the huge store.

"Sure thing, man. I can get you set up. Did they give you an ID number when you registered?" Zayn asked.

"Yeah, they did," Harry said, reaching into his bag and pulled out a slip of paper with his ID number and schedule.

"Follow me, and we'll get you in the system," Zayn told Harry, as Zayn walked to the other side of the Information Desk towards a computer. Niall and Harry took seats on the other side of the counter, as Zayn sat down in front of the computer to type. "I'll need confirm a couple things with you, so just give me a few minutes to get your information loaded."

Harry nodded, and slipped his bag off his shoulder next to the chair on the floor. 

"Did you pull my books yet, Z?" Niall asked, looking bored, wiggling in his seat.

"Yeah, they are up front. Patience, geez," Zayn remarked, looking at Niall. Niall started to spin around in his seat.

"Wooooooo!" Niall gleefully spun around in the seat. "They should put a cafe in here," Niall pondered out loud. "Or a mini golf course."

"Nialler, seriously? They aren't going to put a mini golf course in a bookstore of all places." Harry shook his head, slightly amused. He really did wonder where Niall got his completely random ideas from.

"They should, though. This place needs livening up! It's just _books_."

"Hence the name book _store_ ," Harry emphasized. 

About five minutes later, Zayn had finished with Harry's registration. "Ok, Harry, let me just grab your books and you'll be all set."

"Is that something I can help with?" Harry asked. "I hate to keep you."

"Harry, it's fine," Zayn assured him. "This is what I do pretty much all day until the semester is in full swing. It's fine, just sit tight."

And with that, Zayn was off. Zayn reappeared about ten minutes later. "Alright Harry! Got you everything. If that's all you need, we'll go to the front and get you ringed up -"

"Ahem!" Niall cleared his throat, very loudly.

"We'll get your books, Niall, stop being so fussy!" Zayn shook his head, as he motioned them to follow him. 

Once they got to the check out counter, Zayn started scanning in Harry's books.

"Thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it," Harry told Zayn. 

"Anytime, Harry," Zayn looked up at Harry, pausing slightly before speaking. "Are you guys busy this weekend? I'm actually having a very small get together for Liam this weekend. His birthday is in a couple weeks, but I'm going to be out of town. So I thought I'd have a little casual get together for him. It will be very low key, not too many people. You're welcome to come. There's a pool if you want to swim -"

"A pool??" Harry perked up. He really had been wanting to go for a swim, but his aunt didn't have a pool. "I was actually going to try to see if there were any local pools around as I love to swim."

"Fantastic!" Zayn said, finishing scanning Harry's books, and reached for a bag to put them in. "Like I said, very small get together. I think Liam is going to try to get Louis to come."

"Louis??" Harry's face lit up and started to grin, as his dimples forming into his cheeks. "Louis might come???"

Niall started to laugh, snorting.

"What's so funny?" Harry asked, as he heard Zayn chuckle behind him.

"Come on, mate," Niall said, nudging Harry. "Could you be any more obvious?"

Zayn totaled up Harry's purchases and applied his employee discount code, as Harry blushed. "You got it bad, don't you man?" 

Harry covered his face, trying to hide his flustered cheeks. "I don't know what you're talking about," Harry muttered, handing Zayn his credit card.

Harry wasn't too comfortable talking about Louis with anyone yet. Harry was just glad that he was wrong initially, and that Louis actually did like him. He took a chance by sneaking his number into that box of scones about a month ago, and it seemed to have worked. Harry was slightly disappointed he hadn't seen him that much. Harry had just come back from a two week vacation with his family a couple weeks ago, and really had only seen Louis once since he had returned. He had come deliver packages to the bakery once, and they chit chatted about Harry's trip with his family. They had also sent several text messages back and forth, some very flirtatious in nature. Harry was completely enamored, but he tried to not put to much thought into the lack of interaction he had with Louis. He knew that his studies were much more important, and he should be concentrating on that, anyway. It was just hard for Harry not to think of Louis, as Louis seemed to be all he could think about.  

*** * ***

After getting back to his flat, he decided to take a look at all the books he had gotten for his classes. He was only taking a regular load of fifteen hours, but he easily had about twenty books, maybe even more. Harry was still taking the basic core classes, but he was seriously thinking of going into Classics or Writing. If he was going to do the Classics route, he might as well get used to having to read a lot of books. Harry had classes in literature, music theory, world civilization, psychology, and journalism writing. Harry was glad that Niall was in his psychology class, so he knew he'd at least know one familiar face.

He sorted all of his books into the different classes, and noticed there was a book for an electrical engineering course. Harry wasn't taking engineering. Zayn must have grabbed that by mistake. Harry decided he better go back to the bookstore and return it before he forgot. 

Harry grabbed a simple short head scarf to pull his hair back, and grabbed a black and white plaid shirt out of his closet. He put the shirt on over his white tank top that he was wearing, and then laced his boots back on. With that, he was out the door and on his way back to the bookstore. 

With luck on his side, Harry spotted Zayn as soon as he walked through the bookstore's double doors. 

"Zayn!"

Zayn turned his head to find the voice that was calling him, and saw Harry.

"Hey Harry," Zayn said, walking towards Harry. "Back for more?"

"No, sorry," Harry told him. "This was accidentally in my bag, and I'm not taking engineering." Harry handed the book over to Zayn.

Zayn took the book from Harry. "Oh, dude, I'm sorry. It's so crazy here the weeks leading up to the semester starting. Mistakes are bound to happen."

"No problem, mate," Harry told him, handing Zayn his receipt. "Do you need my receipt?"

"Yeah, come over here with me and will get that amount put back on your card." Zayn walked over to one of the registers, and started to type in some commands. Tearing a printout from the register, Zayn handed the slip of paper and a pen to Harry. "Just sign that for me, will you?"

"Sure," Harry said, signing the slip of paper.

"You're all set," Zayn said. "Don't forget to come by this weekend. It will be Saturday, unless something changes. I'm sure Trixie would love to see you."

"Oh yeah, Trixie! She's adorable. How old is she?" Harry asked Zayn, folding his sleeves up. Harry wasn't sure why he grabbed a long sleeve shirt, as it was still pretty warm outside.

"We're not sure, as we got her from a shelter, but we think around three," Zayn told Harry. "Do you still remember how to get there?"

"Sure do," Harry told him. "See you then. Have a good one, Zayn!" Harry waved at him before turning around to leave.

Harry pulled his phone out to see if maybe Louis had texted him or something. He really wanted to see Louis again. Harry really hoped Louis would be at Zayn's gathering Saturday. Maybe Harry could bring him something from the bakery. He didn't have any messages from Louis, but he did have one from his mum, wishing him a good day. He really did miss his mum, as he was very close with her. He had really enjoyed the two weeks he got to spend with his mum, dad, and Gemma. He missed them incredibly while he was here, but he was also fulfilling his dream, so he knew in the end it would be worth it. His aunt reminded him a lot of his mum, so it was nice to be able to be around people that reminded him of home. Harry probably should have been watching where he was going because all of sudden Harry felt a body run into him, and before he knew it he had lost his balance and fell smack on his bum on the hard floor.

"Ow!" Harry exclaimed, before he looked up and saw familiar blue eyes stare back at him. "Louis?"

"Harry! Oh shit, I'm so sorry, are you okay?" Louis reached down to grab Harry's hand to pull him up.

Harry took a hold of Louis hand, trying not to squee at the thought of Louis' hand in his, and stood up. "No, it's okay. I should have looked where I was going." Harry was definitely going to have a bruise tomorrow, as he rubbed his bum, mouthing "ow."

"You sure you are alright?" Louis asked Harry, concerned.

"I will probably be bruised tomorrow, but it's my own fault really," Harry replied, smiling at Louis.

Harry and Louis stood there, looking at each other before they both looked away with a soft smile. 

"What are you doing here?" Louis asked him.

"Oh, they accidentally gave me the wrong book, so I had to return it," Harry replied.

Louis chuckled. "Do you always go to university bookstores for your leisurely reading? There's a regular bookshop not too far from the bakery, you know."

Harry looked at Louis, confused and bewildered. "Huh? What are you going on about? I was just returning a book as it was a book for a class I'm not taking. They pulled it by accident I guess."

"Class?" Louis asked. "You go to Princeton?" 

_Wait, did Louis not know he was going to Princeton?_ Harry guessed it just never came up. "Just transferred here actually. Did you not know?" Harry grinned, as Harry began to tell Louis how he waited a year before applying. "I've wanted to come to Princeton since I was about twelve, so you could say I'm kind of walking on air right now."

_In more ways than one_ , Harry thought to himself, taking in Louis' blue eyes, and tanned athletic arms. Louis was just so fit, not to mention extremely sexy. Harry also found Louis' facial hair very attractive. Harry didn't like facial hair on himself, pretty much hated it, and was meticulous about shaving any hairs that popped up. But on other guys, he found facial hair very desirable, if it was groomed the right way. 

"No! That's awesome, Harry," Louis told him, softly. "I love it here. It's a lot of work, but love it."

For the next twenty minutes or so, Harry chatted with Louis - from what classes they were taking, to Harry's nerves about starting his classes, and the work involved. Louis gave Harry a brief run-down on what it was like, which slightly calmed Harry's nerves. Harry found out that Louis was double majoring in music and business, which impressed Harry. Louis must be smart if he's double majoring. Then again, everyone at Princeton was smart. You had to be to get into Princeton. He told Louis he hadn't officially declared yet, but was considering writing or literature. Louis told him about Liam being his roommate, which of course Harry already knew. 

They were standing fairly close to each other, closer than what two acquaintances or two people who had just recently met would typically be standing towards each other. Harry then suddenly felt a hand grab his shoulder, and looked behind him to see Liam, who grabbed Louis' shoulder as well. 

"Well well well, what do we have here?" Liam boasted, wrapping one arm around each of them.

Harry saw Louis look behind him and roll his eyes at Liam. "Don't touch me, you oaf!" Louis started to swat Liam's hand away, at the same time removing Liam's hand off Harry's shoulder, ever so subtly. 

Liam chuckled, and then started to poke Louis in the shoulder. 

"Stop it!" Louis said, slightly aggravated. "You're such a nuisance!"

"Hey Harry," Liam said. "Nice to see you again."

"Hi, Liam," Harry replied. "How are you?"

"Wow, you're so nice. This one never asks me how I am doing," Liam pointed to Louis.

Louis rolled his eyes. "Did you need something Liam? I was talking to Harry …" 

"Can't I come say hi to my favorite roommate?" Liam teased. 

"I'm your only roommate," Louis corrected. "Don't you have work to be doing?"

Suddenly, they heard a alarm coming from a phone go off.

"Oops," Harry quickly reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone to turn the alarm off. "So sorry! That's my reminder to go pick up my cousin."

"Your cousin?" Louis asked.

"Yes, Anna, the little girl you met in the bakery awhile back? She's my cousin. She's four,"  Harry explained, putting his phone back in his pocket. "Sorry I can't stay, but got to go pick the little nugget up."

Louis smiled. Harry was just so cute. "Oh that's alright," Louis said, giving Harry a quick hug. "See you later then."

Liam arched an eyebrow at Louis. 

"Shut up," Louis whispered, barely audible, but Harry heard it.

"See you guys around," Harry said, smiling, mostly at Louis. Harry turned around to walk towards the doors to leave.

"Not a word, Payne." Harry heard Louis say to Liam as he walked away.

"You never hug me," Harry heard Liam reply with a dramatic tone.

Harry grinned to himself as he walked to his car. Yeah, he definitely liked Louis. Really, really liked Louis. Even though it was a very simple and short goodbye hug, Louis smelt fantastic. Harry's eyelashes fluttered just thinking about the smell. He had it bad. So, very bad.


	13. Saturday, August 16th

  *** * LIAM * ***

"Zayn!" Liam greeted, entering the backyard to Zayn's. 

"Liam!" Zayn greeted Liam in a hug. "Sorry I won't be here for your birthday. Family vacation and all."

"Don't worry about it, dude," Liam said. "I was thinking of going home to Arizona that weekend anyway."

"Well this is pretty low key, hopefully that's okay. There's some beers and sodas in the ice chest. And my Dad is going to make burgers soon."

"Is Niall coming? If so, your Dad better be prepared to make a lot of burgers!" Liam laughed.

"Yeah, I think he and Harry should be here any minute," Zayn said, emptying some chips into a bowl. "Louis coming?"

"I told him," Liam shrugged. "Didn't tell him about Harry coming, though."

"Liam, happy early birthday!" Liam looked to see Lucas, Zayn's roommate, coming over to shake his hand.

"Thanks, man," Liam told him. "How is it going?"

"Very well, thanks. We're going to start a game of basketball in a little bit if you want to join," Lucas told him, pointing to an area where they had a hoop set up.

"Sure, maybe after I get a bite to eat?" Liam offered.

"Sweet, see you in a little bit," Lucas said, rushing off to join a couple other guys around the basketball hoop.

"ZAYN!" Liam heard a loud Irish yell from the front door.

"And that would be Niall," Zayn said. "Have a seat, get some snacks." Zayn motioned towards the table of food and some chairs that were set out by the pool, as he disappeared to go get Niall.

"Hey mate!" Liam looked up from grabbing some chips to a bouncy Irishman patting him on the back. "Happy Early Birthday!"

"Hey, Niall, thanks," Liam answered, nodding to Harry behind Niall. "Hi, Harry."

Harry waved at Liam. "So your birthday is next week?"

"In two weeks. Going to go home to Arizona for a few days to see the family. Once semester starts, I definitely won't have time to go see them," Liam told them, as he rarely got to see his family. Arizona was just too far from New Jersey for him to see them too often. Granted, it wasn't England, but still.

"Well happy early birthday then!" Harry exclaimed.

"Thanks, Harry," Liam smiled.

"Hey Zayn, you don't you mind if I take swim, do you?" Harry asked Zayn. Harry was already dressed in swim shorts and a tee, Liam noticed. 

"No, go right ahead. It's a good day for it, it's scorching. I'll get you some towels. There's a shower just inside if you want to freshen up afterwards." Zayn walked towards the house to get some towels for Harry.

Harry placed his bag down by some of the chairs, as Liam came to sit in one of them.

"So, Liam…"

"He's not here, Harry," Liam stated.

"I wasn't going to ask that!" Harry exclaimed. "Not directly anyway."

Liam looked at Harry, with a very knowingly look on his face. "No offense, Styles, but you are aren't exactly stealth."

"He's so right, mate," Niall pitched in, sitting next to Liam.

Harry scoffed. "Whatever."

Zayn then returned with Harry's towels. "Here you go, man."

"Thanks, Zayn." Harry turned back to Liam. "Well, is he going to drop by you think?"

"Don't know," Liam answered, shrugging his shoulders. "I told him. I came straight from work, I don't even know where he is right now."

"Does he like to swim? Maybe he will want to take a swim," Harry wondered.

Liam laughed. "Good luck with that one, man." Liam continued to chuckle. 

"What's so funny?" Zayn asked.

"Louis won't swim in public. He flat out refuses," Liam explained, shrugging his shoulders.

"Does he not know how to swim?" Niall asked.

"Oh he knows how to swim," Liam answered. "And I think he likes swimming. He just.. uh, rather do it alone."

Harry frowned. "I'm not sure I follow, Liam."

"He's just very self-conscious." Liam paused. "He doesn't like to talk about it, so I don't really press it. In fact, I really shouldn't even be telling you this."

"If he doesn't swim in public, where does he swim? You said he likes to swim, he has to do it somewhere if he likes it," Harry thought out loud.

"Oh he goes the local Y every now and then around 1am when no one is there-" Liam slapped his hand over his mouth. "I was not supposed to say that. Shit."

"Hmm. Well, I'll be in the pool," Harry flipped off his flip flops and then removed his shirt before he jumped towards the pool.

"Lads, you better stand back - " Niall warned, moving backwards.

"Huh?" Liam and Zayn asked.

Before they knew it, they were splashed with water, as Harry jumped into the pool. "He's a splasher."

*** * LOUIS * ***

Louis was finally getting off work. They had a flood of packages come in last minute, and they all had to be sorted and put on trucks for Monday. Louis' phone buzzed in his pocket, and Louis checked it and saw that he had a text message from Liam.

 **Liam** You are coming aren't you?

 **Louis** What are you talking about?

 **Liam** Zayn's, remember? Burgers and beer? 

 **Louis** Oh shit, sorry. Had to work late. Is it too late?

 **Liam** Nah, they just started the grill.

 **Louis** Have them save me one - be there in 15.

 **Liam** Sweet. See ya soon, Tommo!

Soon after, Louis parked in front of Zayn's family's house. The front door was open, so he walked on in. Louis had completely forgot that Liam told him about going to Zayn's for a small get together to celebrate Liam's birthday early. Louis was starving too, and a burger sounded amazing right now.

Louis had stepped into the patio of the backyard when he stopped in his tracks. Not far from him was a long rectangular swimming pool in the backyard, with a very shirtless Harry appearing above the water, flipping his wet hair back. _Holy shit_ , Louis thought. _Oh my god he is just so damn fit. And…wet._ Louis stepped back into the house just slightly, so he wouldn't be seen. Harry was a really good swimmer. He was swimming by himself, except for the fact that Zayn's family dog was following Harry around the edge of the pool. The dog was pretty funny. Louis couldn't keep his eyes off Harry, and he was starting to breath harder. Louis should really look away, he really should. But he just couldn't bring himself to, as Harry was just so damn sexy. He was already quite attractive with clothes on, but now Harry was only in tiny swim shorts and was wet. Biting his lower lip, Louis knew really needed to control himself. As in, literally. Louis turned to the side to adjust himself, before an even worse problem would present itself. Louis took a deep breath, and was startled by his phone buzzing. 

 **Liam** Will you stop ogling, and get over here? Jesus.

Louis wasn't being as sly and suave as he thought apparently. He took one more deep breath and walked out to the backyard, towards Liam that was sitting in one of the chairs to the side of the pool. He tried very hard not to look in Harry's direction, though he could hear him in the water.

"Hey, Tommo," Liam greeted him, as Louis sat next to Liam. 

"I was not ogling," Louis whispered, glaring at Louis.

"Ookay, dude," Liam replied, laughing to himself.

Louis then saw Zayn and Niall walking towards them with plates of food in their hands. 

"Hey, Louis," Zayn said.

"Hi, Zayn," Louis replied. "Thanks for letting me come."

"Of course," Zayn nodded. "Anytime."

Louis saw that Niall was trying to have a seat next to Liam, who was having trouble balancing his plate. "Mate, is there any left?"

Niall rolled his eyes at Louis. "Oh haha, you're just so funny aren't ya? Yes, Niall likes food! At least I'm not the one trying to hide my boner!"

Louis eyes widened at Niall, starting to blush. "You saw that?!"

Niall cracked up laughing, as he grabbed his beer that was sitting on the ground. "No! I was joking!" 

Louis started to scoot lower in his chair, clearly very embarrassed.

"Louis, why don't you get some food? My dad is by the grill making burgers," Zayn told him.

Before Louis could reply, Louis heard a small splash. Louis had been avoiding looking over towards the pool area since he sat down. He looked over towards the pool, and he saw that Zayn's dog had jumped into the pool with Harry. Louis chuckled, as the dog sure seemed to have a liking towards Harry. Louis couldn't blame the poor pup. 

"Trixie!" Zayn yelled at the dog.

Trixie didn't pay attention to Zayn as she swam closer to Harry. Harry was wiping water out of his eyes and smoothing his hair back when he noticed Trixie swimming up to him. Harry petted behind her ears, as he lowered himself into the water to swim more. Louis looked away briefly, and moments later he heard laughter around him. Louis looked back towards Harry, and noticed that Trixie was smothering Harry's face with dog kisses. Harry was giggling, and then Trixie went right in for Harry's lips.

"Looks like you have some competition, dude," Liam chuckled, with Zayn and Niall laughing right behind his words.

"Very funny, Liam." Louis rolled his eyes, pouting slightly as he crossed his arms across his chest. _I'm not jealous over a dog. I'm not!_

Liam leaned over to whisper in Louis' ear. "Maybe you can get some tips from Trixie. She's already beaten you to first base."

Louis glared at Liam. "Do not start with me, Liam."

"Trixie!" Zayn yelled. "Get out of the pool!"

Trixie poked her head up and saw Zayn, and she came running towards them. 

"Trixie, no!" Zayn shouted towards her. Trixie lunged towards Zayn.

"Stop, Trixie. Stop!" Zayn told Trixie, who came to a halt in right in front of Zayn. Without warning, Trixie started to shake, getting all four of them wet.

"Aaagh!" They all groaned in unison.

"I'm gonna get something to eat," Louis told them, as he wiped the water that landed on his skin off.

"Louis!!" Louis heard Harry call towards him excitedly, and Louis turned to see Harry getting out of the pool. Harry grabbed a towel and started to walk briskly towards him.

"Hey, Louis," Harry said, once he got to Louis.

"Hi Harry," Louis said, finding it hard to concentrate on his words. It was a little hard to focus on anything when there was a shirtless Harry in front of him, with water beading down his naked chest. _Get it together, Tommo_. 

"Did you want to swim?" Harry asked, with an unusual expression on his face that Louis couldn't quite place. He didn't know Harry well enough to be able to decipher it. When Louis realized what Harry was asking him, Louis started to fidget.

"Oh, um.. no.. I'm okay," Louis replied, nervously. "I'm pretty tired." Louis did have a long work day, but that wasn't the real reason he didn't want to swim. Louis also didn't feel that great about lying to Harry. He didn't really feel like exploring those thoughts, so he changed the topic. "I was actually about to head over to get a burger. Are you hungry?"

Harry started to towel dry his hair. "Oh yeah, that does sound good. Think I'm going to take a quick shower first. Don't disappear on me, okay?" Harry winked at him, before jetting across to where the other boys were sitting. Harry picked up his bag of belongings and headed inside the house.

*** * HARRY * ***

Harry quickly finished his shower, and was putting on some clothes before he let his thoughts drift back to Louis. As soon as Harry saw him, he jumped out of the pool to greet him. Probably not his subtlest move, but he didn't think Louis noticed. It was a very warm summer day, so Louis definitely had more skin showing than he had seen on him before. Louis had a very fitted tank top on, which highlighted Louis' arm muscles, and Harry was surprised he didn't have drool coming down his chin. Then there were Louis' collarbones. Something about his collarbones did things to Harry. It was quite silly. They were just collarbones, right? Louis definitely had a tattoo on his chest, but Harry could only make out the word 'what' in what looked like a phrase of some kind. All Harry knew is that it was sexy as hell. Add that with the fact that Louis had his hair pulled back with a headband, it's a wonder Harry didn't have any issues in his swim shorts while talking to him.

He's not sure what made Harry want to ask Louis about swimming. Maybe to see if what Liam said was really true. He didn't know Liam that well yet, and Harry didn't know if he wasn't just saying stuff for the heck of it. As soon as Harry saw Louis' reaction to Harry's question, he knew Liam was telling the truth. Louis definitely got very uncomfortable, and Harry felt bad for even asking. Harry pulled on a Pink Floyd tee and some track shorts, and then headed back out to the backyard. 

Harry headed towards the grill where Zayn's dad was still making burgers.

"Are there any burgers left, Mr. Malik?" Harry asked politely.

"Sure are," Mr. Malik replied. "Grab yourself a plate and bun." Zayn's dad placed a burger on Harry's plate.

"Thanks for letting me swim," Harry told him. "The water was great."

"Sure thing! Glad you enjoyed yourself. Please make yourself at home - there's condiments and chips," Mr. Malik motioned towards the rest of the table of food.

"Thanks!" Harry told him, as he browsed all the food options. Once he had his plate ready, he walked over to where Niall, Liam, Louis, and Zayn were. He stopped at an ice chest to get a soda out, and noticed that four paws were following him. He looked behind him and saw Trixie, who was almost grinning up at him. Harry chuckled at the very joyful pup.

Harry sat down at the empty seat in between Louis and Zayn.

"Looks like you have a friend," Louis said to Harry, motioning towards Trixie. The pup had took it upon herself to sit right in front of Harry.

"Think our dog might be in love with you, Styles," Zayn laughed.

"Aww, she's a great dog. Aren't you, Trix?" Harry said, petting Trixie on the head, who was lapping the attention up.

"Zayn, can I borrow your phone?" Harry heard Louis ask.

"Yeah, sure," Zayn handed Louis his phone, as Harry began to eat his food.

Harry saw that Louis had quite the smirk on his face, and he was puzzled as to what Louis was up to. He also thought he heard Liam snicker, but he wasn't positive.

"What are you doing?" Harry mouthed to Louis, as Harry was pretty sure he saw the outline of Louis' phone in his pocket. Louis put his finger in front of his lips at Harry, motioning Harry to be quiet. Harry then saw that Louis was scrolling through Zayn's address book. Harry wasn't sure what Louis was doing, but Louis was rather amusing. Louis had the phone to his ear, and was calling someone.

"George!!" Louis said in a very bad American accent, and then Louis trying what sounded French. "Ja-George!"

Zayn's head turned towards Louis. "What the fuck are you doing? Give me that!" Zayn grabbed his phone.

"Yeah, Zayn, don't give Louis your phone. He's prank called about ten people on my phone. I have to keep changing the passcode." Liam told him.

Harry started laughing, dimples pressed deep into his cheeks. When Louis had his guard down, he was really quite funny. It just made Harry like him even more.

"Who's George?" Niall asked.

"The neighbor down the street," Zayn replied. "Who I doubt you know, Tomlinson."

Louis made a funny face. Harry couldn't help but laugh again, looking at Louis endearingly with a huge grin.

Harry finished his plate, and then stood up to throw everything away, when he remembered that he had brought Louis something.

"Oh, Louis! I brought you something!" Harry told him enthusiastically, briskly walking over to his bag.

"You did!? You didn't have to.. " Louis trailed off, as Harry rummaged through his bag. Louis' eyes widened when he saw that Harry had pulled out small bag of scones in his hand. "Scones!!"

"They are just sample sizes, but I thought you might like them, so I saved some for you," Harry told Louis. Louis grabbed the bag from Harry's hand, and opened it to look at all the different flavors.

"This is fantastic, Harry, thank you so much," Louis told him, then suddenly Harry felt two arms around him, as Louis hugged him tight. Louis felt wonderful. Harry was over the moon with Louis' arms wrapped around his shoulders. He was sure the other lads were exchanging mischievous looks, but he didn't care, and just soaked Louis in.

"You're welcome," Harry told him, as Louis removed himself from Harry.

Louis just looked at Harry with a mystified expression. 

"You want to hear a joke?" Harry asked Louis, as he heard Niall groan loudly.

"Mate, no. Your jokes are horrible," Niall pleading. "Seriously, Louis, don't indulge him."

"Aw, they can't be that bad. Try me." Louis gleamed at Harry.

"Why can't the flower ride his bike?" Harry asked, grinning. It wasn't one of his classic knock knock jokes, but still ones of his favorites. Niall was probably going to strangle him for this one.

"I don't know, why?" Louis asked him.

"Because his pedals fell off." Harry heard a very loud groan from Niall. But Louis laughed, cracking up. He had his hand on his forehead leaning down, his eyes crinkling from laughing so hard.

"Dude," Liam said. "It's wasn't that funny."

Louis was still laughing, and Harry noticed that Liam rolled his eyes at Niall, motioning slightly towards Louis and Harry.

"That's pretty funny, Harry," Louis said, his laughter slowly easing off. "You should write a book of jokes."

Niall threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "You've _got_ to be kidding me! Seriously!"

*** * LOUIS * ***

Louis opened the door to the dorm that he shared with Liam, and threw his keys on the end table. He grabbed the remote to the TV, crashing on the sofa as he turned the TV on. Louis just wanted some random noise to drown out his thoughts.

He had left Zayn's not too long ago, but Liam had stayed there a little longer. When he left, Liam and Niall were pigging out on Liam's birthday cake. Louis was tired, physically and emotionally, and just wanted to go home and rest. He hadn't talked to his mum in several days, and would have normally called her, but it was too early to call in England. 

Louis looked at the TV blankly, as some random game show was on. His thoughts drifted to the evening, and ultimately, to Harry. Louis realized he had left the scones that Harry had given him in his car. He was too knackered to go get them, so he'd get them in the morning. Louis didn't feel like eating anything, anyway. It was an awfully sweet gesture for Harry to bring him the small scones. How did Harry even know he was going to be there? Harry hadn't brought anything else for anyone, just him. Louis didn't want to think too much into it, as maybe Harry was just being nice. Harry was nice, almost too nice, and maybe Harry was just offering them as a token as they still were just getting to know each other.  

Louis closed his eyes, and tried to drown out his thoughts. Louis heard a key through the front door, waking him up from a very light slumber, about twenty minutes later.

"Hey," Liam said, appearing at the door, seeing Louis on the sofa.

"Hey," Louis said, shifting his eyes to the TV screen.

"It was so damn hot out today," Liam said. "I need a shower."

It dawned on Louis that he hadn't even noticed that he had sweat stains on his tank top. Louis tended to get lost in his thoughts at times, ignoring what was going around him. He should probably shower, too.

"Hey Li?" Louis asked.

"Yeah?" Liam stopped as he was headed to the shared bathroom in the dorm.

"Did Harry know I was coming?" 

"I didn't even know you were coming, dude," Liam answered, before pausing. "Zayn may have mentioned it when he invited Harry. I'm not sure, I wasn't there."

"Hm, okay." Louis eyes went back to the TV screen.

"Why?" Liam asked, curious.

"He brought me those scones - yet he wasn't even sure I was going to be there. He's just too nice," Louis told Liam.

Liam sighed, rolling his eyes slightly. "You are so clueless. Harry didn't do it to be nice, Louis."

"Why, then?" 

"How many times do I have to spell this out to you? He likes you. As in _likes_ you. You both are clueless idiots." Liam headed towards the showers, as Louis scoffed at him.

There was no way what Liam was implying was true. Before Louis could explore those thoughts, however, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Louis smiled when he saw who had messaged him.

 **Harry** Hi. 

 **Louis** Hi yourself.

 **Harry** You doing alright? Noticed you left early.

 **Louis** Yeah, just knackered. 

 **Harry** You going to go to sleep?

 **Louis** Soon as Liam stops hogging the shower. I smell horrible.

 **Harry** I think you smell nice..

Louis frowned in confusion at Harry's last message. It was odd, but Louis went with it.

 **Louis** Whatever you say, Harold. Thanks again for the scones.

 **Harry** Of course. It was great seeing you.

 **Louis** You as well.

 **Harry** Well, I better hit the sheets too. Giving Anna swimming lessons tomorrow.

Louis' smile that he had through this text message exchange quickly disappeared. Swimming.

 **Louis** Oh, okay. Have fun.

Louis had tried to squash the thoughts he had earlier when Harry asked him to swim. This was another reason he really wanted to talk to his mum. The thing was, Louis really did like swimming. It was one of the few physical activities besides football that he didn't actually hate. Louis just couldn't bring himself to swim in front of other people unless he could wear a shirt of some kind. Ever since his early teen years, he had been extremely self-conscious about his stomach and his chest at times, too. Louis was always making sure it was covered up, from longer shirts and wearing sweatshirts when it wasn't necessary. His family was always insisting he had nothing to worry about, but isn't your family supposed to say that? Louis always felt like his stomach was sticking out, and he hated it. That's why he didn't wear jeans that much, and wore loose sweatpants or track pants most of the time. Louis knew he went to extremes to avoid being caught with his shirt off. Going to the Y at odd hours of the night just to swim so people wouldn't see him was probably the best example. It definitely was a little extreme, but that's just how insecure Louis was about his body. 

Louis could usually put it in the back of his mind, as the issue really only appeared in the summer months. But then Harry mentioned swimming. _Harry_. Who he couldn't stop thinking about. Who he thought it might be nice to even date. But how in the hell was Louis supposed to date someone if he couldn't even take his shirt off? Not that it would even get that far, but how was Louis supposed to get physical with anyone if he had this ongoing fear? Louis groaned, putting his head in his hands.

"Woah, what's wrong buddy?" Liam asked, looking at Louis concerned.

Louis looked up and saw Liam in his pajamas. Louis sighed. "Harry mentioned he was giving his cousin swimming lessons tomorrow."

Liam sat down on the couch next to Louis. "Okay…"

"It's just," Louis started to explain. "If I can't even swim in public, how am I supposed to have a relationship or even date someone? You can't have a serious relationship without eventually taking your shirt off."

"Look, Lou, I don't really know what the deal is with your swimming thing. It's not my business and I don't really want to pry. But how come you didn't think of this before?" Louis asked, genuinely curious.

"I didn't think it would come up. No one has ever captured my interest like Harry does, and all I've had is a few extremely bad kisses and dates. Nothing ever got that far, so I didn't have to worry about it."

"I think you are jumping the gun just a bit, Tommo. You haven't even asked the guy out," Liam mentioned to him.  

"I can't do that with the semester about to start. The guy is new to Princeton, I don't want to overwhelm him."

"Just for reference, he won't say no. I know that's why you haven't asked him." Liam said.

"How can you be so sure?" Louis shook his head. 

"Because he looks at you the same way you look at him. You don't notice it, but the guys and I do. I don't know how to explain it. It's like the whole world disappears around when you two look at each other. Neither of you notice anything around you." Liam stopped for a minute as Louis rolled his eyes at him. "I know you don't believe me, but I'm just telling you what I see." 

Liam pulled his phone out of his pocket, and browsed to a photo. "Look at this," Liam told Louis, handing him his phone.

"Where did this come from?" Louis asked, looking at a photo of Harry laughing.

"It was when you were prank calling on Zayn's phone. This was Harry's expression," Liam informed him. 

A tiny smile appeared in the corner of Louis' mouth. "See? He likes you," Liam told him.

"Regardless, nothing can happen because of my stupid fat stomach," Louis pouted.

"What's wrong with your stomach? That's why you won't take your shirt off?" Liam asked, looking at Louis incredulously. "You're serious!"

"It pudges out. It's awful." Louis wrapped his arms around his stomach.

"I'm not going to try to understand what's going on in that odd head of yours," Liam said. "Your stomach is fine. You really don't need to worry about this yet, anyway. But Lou.."

"What?"

"Just promise me if or when the time comes, you'll try. Wouldn't it be worth it?"

Louis thought about what Liam was saying. "You mean love?"

"Well, yes. Whenever that happens, whether it's Harry or someone else. You wouldn't want something to mess that up, would you?"

"I guess I never thought about it like that," Louis told Liam honestly.

"Just something to think about, Tommo. I'm going to bed," Liam said. "You might want to take a shower. You stink." 


	14. Monday, September 1st

 

*** * HARRY * ***

Harry couldn't sleep. It had been about two weeks since the cookout at Zayn's, and the semester was quickly approaching. As in, nine hours or so. His first class was at ten in the morning, and here he was at one in the morning, wide awake. He was nervous about starting Princeton. He was nervous about his classes. He was nervous about Louis, who he had only seen briefly a couple times in the past week.

Harry really wanted to spend more time with Louis, but Harry knew it wasn't really possible right now with classes starting. There was just something special about Louis. Harry didn't care that he was shorter and smaller than himself, even though Louis was older. Louis had such a soft quality to him, but at the same time didn't take any crap from anybody. 

Harry threw the covers off his body and got up from the bed, as it was obvious Harry wasn't going to be able to get to sleep. His nerves were just way too high strung. He wasn't sure what to do, so he just put on some jeans and figured he'd see if he could find some gym that had a track he could walk around or run on. 

After driving around and finding out the local gym was closed, Harry drove around and saw that the Y was still open. It looked pretty deserted, with only a few cars in the parking lot. 

Once Harry was inside, he saw that there was a directory of all of the different areas. Racquetball, tennis, the pool, but there weren't any tracks. Harry sighed, and decided to just walk around the place. It was better than nothing.  

The place really was deserted. Harry hadn't seen anyone yet, nor had he heard a soul. Everyone else was probably asleep and didn't have insomnia or wrecked nerves like Harry did. Harry passed all different kinds of weights and exercise machines, as well as the tennis court, a basketball court, and even the locker rooms. Further down the corridor, Harry saw a section that was glassed in, and once he got to the door, he saw that it was the swimming pool. Harry didn't really feel like swimming right now, but wouldn't hurt to put his feet in the water or something. 

He opened the door to the pool area, and was hit with the humid air and the smell of chlorine. There was a very large olympic style swimming pool, as well as a smaller pool much farther back. Harry walked towards the steps of the pool, and sat down. He took off his shoes, and rolled his jeans up so he could dip his feet into the pool. He turned to his side so he could rest against the railing of the steps, breathed in, and closed his eyes. Hoping the sound of the water would calm him, he breathed in and out, slowly yet surely. 

Harry's eyes fluttered open we he heard some splashing in the pool, and Harry saw that someone was swimming. Harry swore that he didn't see anyone in the large pool when he came in. Harry looked around the pool confused, and then saw in the corner where the smaller pool connected to the larger Olympic style one. He must have missed that when he came in. Who would even be swimming at this hour anyways? Harry shrugged his shoulders, and watched the person swim. He couldn't make out who they were. He just saw feet and random spots of skin. Harry leaned his head back and closed his eyes again. He heard the splashing of water get closer, but he ignored it.

"Harry???"

Harry lifted his head up, and searched for the voice that called his name. His eyes were met with the azure blue eyes he was fast falling for.

Harry couldn't help but smile at those gorgeous eyes. "Louis?" Harry looked down at the pool, and could see a blurred script across Louis' chest, that he still could not read. Harry didn't think the pool was that deep on this end, but the water came up to Louis' collarbones. Louis wasn't that short, and yet it almost seemed like Louis was squatting that low on purpose. But that was just silly, right?

"What are you doing here?" Louis asked him.

"I couldn't sleep," Harry said. "Was trying to find a track, but couldn't find one. So I just wandered around here, and thought I'd check out the pool." 

"Nervous about tomorrow?" Louis looked over Harry's shoulders at the clock. "Or rather today?"

"Yeah," Harry breathed, before looking back towards Louis. "What are you doing - swimming at this hour?"

Louis sighed, somewhat nervously. "Can you do me a favor and grab me that towel on that bench behind you?"

Harry turned around to see the bench Louis was referring to. "Sure," Harry replied, getting up to grab the towel and hand it to Louis. Harry wasn't sure why Louis wasn't getting out of the pool to get it himself, but Harry didn't think much of it. 

Louis took the towel from Harry, and before he stepped out of the pool he towel dried his hair. Louis let the towel dangle in front of his chest as he get out of the pool walked to the bench. With his back towards Harry, he dried off and put a red shirt on. Harry didn't move towards him, as he got the feeling Louis wanted some kind of privacy while he got dressed. He's not sure exactly what gave him that feeling, just that Louis seemed a little guarded. Harry wasn't sure exactly why, though.  

Louis came back and sat next to Harry on the edge of the pool, and dipped his feet into the water like Harry. Harry looked to his side and Louis and offered a small smile. 

"Are you nervous too? Is that why you are here? Odd time of day to take up swimming," Harry asked.

Louis looked at the water. "A little, but not too much." Harry heard Louis take a very deep breath. "I usually only swim at very odd hours. I guess I just prefer to swim alone," Louis said softly.

When Louis said that, Harry thought of the odd conversation he had with Liam several weeks ago. He couldn't recall it exactly, but something about Louis being self-conscious and not swimming in public. 

"How come?" Harry asked. 

Louis looked at Harry, and let out a very long sigh. "I don't want to say. You'll think I'm weird," Louis whispered.

"That's not possible, Louis. Try me," Harry said, assuringly.

Louis started to fidget, like he wasn't sure what to exactly say. "You know how most people have something they don't really like about themselves?"

"Yeah," Harry said, urging Louis to continue.

"Well, for me, it's.. my stomach," Louis breathed out.

Harry looked down at Louis' stomach, and saw that Louis had his arm draped across it. There wasn't anything wrong with his stomach that Harry could tell.

"I know it probably seems silly," Louis continued. "It's just that I get embarrassed by my body a lot of the time, as I'm not as fit as a lot of other guys, especially my stomach." Louis wouldn't look at Harry, and just stared at the water. "You probably think I'm some weirdo now, as you're so fit-" 

"Louis," Harry interrupted softly. Louis stopped talking, but wouldn't look at Harry. Harry lightly placed a couple fingers below Louis' chin. "Please look at me."

Louis squeezed his eyes shut and lifted his head to turn towards Harry. Louis slowly opened his eyes to look at Harry. Harry gave Louis a soft, yet sweet smile as he moved his hand to place a stray hair behind Louis' ear that had fallen forward. "I'm still here. I honestly don't care about your stomach, though you are definitely wrong about not being fit. You're fit as fuck."

Louis eyes widened. "What!?" 

Harry ignored what Louis said, and leaned closer to reach down to move Louis' arms from his stomach. He then lifted the bottom of Louis' shirt up so he could see Louis' stomach. Louis was definitely nervous, and Harry could tell he was sucking in his stomach. 

"Louis," Harry whispered, looking into Louis' fearful eyes. "Breathe. It's okay." Harry looked down, and saw that Louis' right hand was clenched into a fist, knuckles white. Harry took his other hand and unclasped Louis' fist, and covered his hand with his own.

Louis looked back into Harry's comforting eyes, and breathed out. Louis squeezed his eyes shut, as he felt Harry's hand glaze over his stomach. Harry couldn't see what the issue was. He barely had much of a stomach at all, and he thought Louis' tummy was pretty cute. Harry removed his hand from Louis' stomach, and the fabric of Louis' red shirt fell back to Louis' waist. Harry leaned back to give Louis some space, and moved his hand next to Louis' hand that was placed on the concrete.

Louis opened his eyes again, breathing a sigh of relief. He looked at Harry, who was smiling at him sweetly.  

"I don't think you have anything to worry about, as you're still fit in my eyes anyway," Harry told Louis honestly.

"You think I'm…?" Louis asked quietly.

Harry reached up and scratched his nose. "I have ever since I first saw you." Harry looked down at his hand. His hand was so close to Louis' hand. "I… really like you, Louis. And its not just because I find you ridiculously attractive." Harry grazed his thumb very slightly over Louis' hand, lightly tracing a couple circles over the the skin.

Louis looked at Harry with an incredulous expression, as he couldn't believe what Harry was telling him.

"You are. You might not see it, but I think you are. And plus, you think I'm cute, remember?" Harry grinned at him, reminding Louis of the time he called him cute when they first officially met. Harry then heard the clock chime. He looked up, and saw that it was three in the morning.

Harry sighed. "I better get back. My first class is at ten."

With a small smile, Louis was staring at their hands on the concrete, that were still in very close proximity. "Yeah," Louis whispered. "Big day tomorrow."

Both Harry and Louis got up, and Louis went back to the bench to gather his things. Louis turned around to face Harry.

Louis then enveloped Harry in tight hug. "Good luck with classes. You'll do great, I know it."

Breaking from the hug, Louis looked up at Harry with a grin, as Harry smiled back. Harry noticed that Louis' shirt was quite low cut in the front, revealing more of his tattoo. Harry tried to read it, but some of it was still covered. Something "what it is."

"What does your tattoo say? I keep trying to read it." Harry asked, looking at Louis' tattoo, reaching to touch the 'w' in the word 'what.' 

"Hmm? Oh," Louis said, reaching down to pull down the collar of of his shirt so Harry could see.

"It is what it is," Harry read out loud, grazing Louis' skin ever so lightly as his fingers touched the letters. Harry thought Louis' tattoo was even sexier up close. "I like it. Good philosophy." 

"Thanks," Louis grinned. "Don't you have some on your shoulders?"

"I have several, but yeah, I have letters on my shoulders." Harry pulled his shirt down slightly to show Louis.

"Do they mean anything?" Louis asked.

"The G is for my sister, Gemma," Harry told him, before he moved his shirt to the other side to show Louis the other one. "And the A is for my mum. Her name is Anne."

"I like them. Very sweet," Louis told Harry, who grinned at Louis, dimples pinching his cheeks.

Louis and Harry then walked to the door to the swimming pool exit. As Louis got to the door, he turned around to face Harry. 

"We're friends… right?" Louis asked Harry.

Harry looked at Louis and smiled. "Of course," Harry said, before pausing. Harry looked down at the floor. "For now," he whispered, not sure it was even loud enough for Louis to hear.


	15. Friday, September 5th

*** * NIALL * ***

"But Barb, come on!" Niall whined. "Just a little taste!"

"No!" Barbara exclaimed. "Get out of my kitchen!" 

"Fine!" Niall stormed back into the office of the bakery. He didn't know why he couldn't just taste a little of the cookie dough. It wasn't going to hurt anyone. Some aunt Barb was!

With classes now in full swing, Niall and Harry were alternating shifts so they had enough staff to cover the busy shifts. It was Friday morning, and the morning rush seemed to have died down. Niall had some reading to do anyway, so he thought it was best to get to it. Niall opened one of his books and started to read.

"Thanks for your help this morning, Niall," Ruth told him when she popped her head into the office awhile later.

"Oh, hey, Ruth! Not a problem, don't have class until this afternoon anyway," Niall told her, looking up from his book.

Ruth looked at Niall. "What's with the frown?"

"Aunt Barbara wouldn't let me have any cookie dough!" Niall pouted.

Ruth started to burst out laughing. "Oh poor you! How old are you again?"

The back doorbell rang. "Oh, can you get that dear? I need to check the front." Ruth turned and went back towards the store.

Niall got up from desk he was reading at and walked to the door, and saw Louis on the other side.

"Oh, hey, Nialler," Louis said.

"Hey mate," Niall said. "How many we got today?" There have been several occasions when Niall was helping out with the bakery and Louis would drop by with deliveries for the bakery. It usually only took Louis less than three minutes, depending on how large their delivery was that day, to ask about Harry. Niall had even timed it once.

"Big one today. There's ten," Louis said, bringing the dolly in. "How are your classes?"

"Not too bad. Still taking the basics," Niall answered. "Love my architecture class though."

"That's awesome, mate. I know you were thinking of concentrating on architecture." Louis lifted the dolly up so the packages would slide onto the floor. He handed Niall his tablet. "Sign that for me, will you?"

As Niall signed the tablet, Louis paused. _Here it comes_ , Niall thought.

"Where's Harry?" 

"Wow, three minutes on the dot this time, Tommo." Niall laughed, looking at his watch. Niall handed back the tablet to Louis.

"What are you yammering on about?" Louis questioned.

"First off, Harry's not here. He'll be in the afternoon. As for the other thing, every time I'm here and you have us on your route, it takes you usually two or three minutes exactly to ask about Harry."

"I do not!" Louis scoffed.

"Oh yes you do!" Niall cackled. "You two are unbelievable, I swear."

"What's that supposed to be mean?" Louis snapped.

"Don't get all testy! I'll prove it to you." Niall paused, before he called out for Harry's aunt. "Ruth!"

"What is it, dear?" Ruth called back.

"Do you have a minute?" Niall asked, motioning to Louis to wait.

"What is it, Niall?" Ruth asked, entering the back from the front of the store.

"What does Harry talk about the most on an average day?" Niall asked, as he saw Louis roll his eyes and crossing his arm across his chest defiantly. 

"That guy he met at the beginning of the summer - he won't shut up about him. Louis this, Louis that!" Ruth said, walking over towards Niall. "Why?"

"This is Louis," Niall devilishly replied, motioning towards Louis to Ruth.

Ruth mouth dropped open, and she swatted Niall on the arm. "You could have warned me!"

Niall leaned over, cackling with laughter.

"I'm so sorry, dear, He can be quite the arse at times." Ruth went over to Louis as he shook her hand. She already knew that Louis was the occasional delivery person. Not just from hearing Harry talk about him non-stop, but she also wasn't an idiot. Harry didn't just suddenly develop an interest for package delivery times just for fun. "I'm Ruth."

"Louis," Louis said, shaking Ruth's hand, blushing.

Ruth looked at Louis. "Oh wait, I remember you! From Doncaster, right?"

Louis face lit up when he heard her say Doncaster. "That's right. Oh yeah, you helped me when I got some tea here awhile back."

Ruth nodded approvingly, looking Louis up and down. "Not bad. I approve." 

"What side of Harry's family is she on?" Louis asked Niall, who was still laughing, after Ruth had left.

"She's Harry's mum's sister," Niall said. "Not too bad, Louis. Already got the aunt's approval. Not an easy task, just saying."

"What do you mean?" Louis asked.

"Ruth's pretty much Harry's second mum. She and Anne are very close." Niall paused. "I'm just saying if you can get Ruth's approval, Anne's is pretty much a given."

"Approval for what?" Louis asked, about to give up on whatever Niall was yammering on about.

"Dating."

"Dating!? Who said anything about dating?" Louis nervously combed his hand through his hair.

"It's going to happen eventually." Niall stated, as he believed it was a true fact.

"How am I supposed to date when I'm taking 18 hours this semester? Harry just started Princeton. You know what the first semester here is like," Louis told Niall.

"Doesn't matter," Niall replied. "It will work itself out. Don't fight it, man. Just let it happen."

*** * LOUIS * ***

Louis stepped out of the shower, and dried himself off with a towel. He had been all sweaty from hauling deliveries all morning, and needed to head off to his afternoon class pretty soon. He pulled some jeans on and a distressed blue tee shirt, and tried to decide what to do about his hair. He really didn't feel like messing with it, so Louis grabbed a gray beanie and called it a day. Lately Louis was always putting his hair back with a headband or in a beanie. He thought it might be time for a trim. It was fairly sunny that day, so he put some sunglasses on, grabbed his bag, and headed out the door.

His class was only about half a mile walk, and even though he had some extra time, Louis figured he would go ahead and get a head start. The class wasn't the most exciting one, as it was all about different types of business contracts. It was an important class, though, especially if Louis wanted to get into any kind of music management, which he was seriously considering. 

Louis headed for a shortcut through some of the buildings. Louis was about halfway to his class when he spotted him. On the edge of the curb was Harry, with an eaten apple in one hand, and was reading a rather thick book in his lap. It was almost amusing how Harry, with his very long legs, could fold himself into something so much smaller. His legs were covered in torn black jeans that were folded almost to his chest, and Louis had to wonder if that could really be that comfortable. Louis looked at his watch, and noticed he still had about forty minutes. He walked closer to the curb, and lightly tapped Harry's boot with his shoe. Harry looked up, and suddenly Louis was faced with a wide smile, deep dimples, and sparkling teeth.

"Louis!" Harry patted the concrete next to him. "Sit."

Louis sat down next to Harry, and jumped up slightly as he felt something. He looked down and noticed a small camera. "Is this yours?"

Harry looked at what Louis was holding. "Oh, yes, sorry."

"You like photography?" Louis asked, taking his sunglasses off and hanging them on his shirt.

"I just like taking pictures. Random hobby I guess," Harry said, closing his book and setting his eaten apple aside. 

"Ever considered a photography class?" Louis asked gently.

"No, not really, I suppose."

"Zayn might know if they offer any here, if you ever want to take any. He's an art major." Louis told him, smiling softly at Harry.

"Oh, I didn't know what he was in the art program," Harry said. "Cool."

Louis turned the camera on and pressed the review button to see if anything was on the card. There were some pictures, so he started to browse them. 

"Oh, you probably don't want to see those -" Harry said, trying to grab the camera from Louis.

Louis swatted Harry's arm away. "Now, now, Harold, don't be bashful." Louis continued to look through the photos. Various pictures of the campus, some of Harry's little cousin, the bakery. And some of… his butt. Louis looked closer at a photo, and that was definitely his butt. Louis slowly turned his head to look at Harry with an eyebrow raised, who was red as a tomato.

"Oh Harold," Louis sang. "When did you take these?" Louis had to stop himself from laughing. Louis was actually quite proud of his derrière, and he knew he had a great ass. He found it quite funny that somehow Harry was able to sneakily take photos of his behind without him even noticing. "I've never even seen this camera before. Are you some secret paparazzi?"

"No! It's not like that, at all," Harry insisted. "It was the other night, remember? When I failed miserably at football?"

A couple nights ago, Louis and Liam had suggested a light game of football with Harry and Niall. Louis thought it would be a great opportunity to see how much Harry liked football. Turns out Harry liked to watch football, but playing it was a different story. To be blunt, Harry pretty much sucked at it. He did try though, but Louis was a little mystified how his heart had fallen for a person who was just absolutely horrible at football. It was very cute how he tried, though.

"I was so bad, so I just thought I would sit back and watch. You were occupied with playing the game, so really I was just taking pictures of the game! Plus you're so good at it - I was just getting photographic evidence of your skills."

"The flattery isn't going to work, Harold, but if that makes you feel better about getting caught eyeing my arse then - "

Louis didn't finish his sentence as Harry made a guffaw sound. Louis shook his head in amusement, and decided to change the subject, as he had embarrassed Harry enough. Louis turned the camera off, and handed it to Harry.

"I saw Niall earlier," Louis told him.

"Oh, did you work this morning?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, you guys had a lot of boxes," Louis said. "Niall said you are working later?"

"Yeah, in an hour or so." Harry reached up to grab his sunglasses that was holding his hair back. Harry placed the sunglasses next to a large water bottle that Louis hadn't noticed was sitting next to him. 

"Do you have any more classes this week?" Louis asked, shaking his head at himself after the words were out of his mouth. Of course he was through with his classes. Harry was about to go to work, and it was almost one in the afternoon on a Friday.

"Nope, my morning class was my last one for the week. I really am liking everything so far," Harry told him.

"I knew you'd like it."

"Going to be a lot of work and reading, but I like the classes and the campus," Harry scratched his head, and his hair fell into his eyes.

Louis reached towards him and stroked his hair ever so lightly, before moving Harry's curls out of his face. Louis breathed, thinking about what Niall told him. About what his Mom told him. Louis really wanted to kiss Harry. To go on dates with him. But how would that even work with their schedules? He was falling so hard for this adorable yet sexy boy there was just no turning back now. Louis was done for. He knew everyone was probably wondering what was taking him so long to ask Harry out. Could it work? Louis told himself he would have to make it work. This was Harry. _Harry_. Louis would never be able to forgive himself if he didn't take a chance and he got swooped up by someone else. He couldn't let that happen, as scary as this next step was. His mum was right, it could be something great. He had to try. Harry was worth it, and Louis he had to at least give this a shot. Louis suddenly didn't care anymore that he was taking eighteen hours and had a part-time job. That Harry was in his first semester at Princeton. There was something here. He felt it. And he was almost positive Harry felt it, too.

"Do you have class?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I should get going soon," Louis trailed off, sad to be leaving Harry.

Harry started to collect his things, and stood up. "Well, I better head off to the bakery anyway."

_Fuck it_ , Louis thought to himself, standing up as well. He took his sunglasses from his shirt and put them into his bag. Louis then started to get nervous and fidgeted with his hands.

"See you soon?" Harry asked, looking at Louis, slightly puzzled at his slight change in demeanor. 

Louis nodded, and what felt like just a nanosecond later, he saw Harry turning the other way. Louis took a deep breath. Now or never. 

"Harry!" Louis grabbed his arm, spinning Harry around toward him.

"Oof!" Harry almost landed smack into Louis' chest.

"Sorry," Louis looked into his Harry's stunning green eyes, that were searching his own.

"Yeah?" Harry whispered. 

Louis wondered if Harry could hear his heart beating. It was thumping so loud and at a rapid pace.

"Louis?" Harry asked, concerned at Louis' silence. "You okay?"

Louis swallowed, as he took one last deep breath. Looking up directly into Harry's green eyes, he opened his mouth to speak the words. "Go out with me?" The words came out a whisper, but they came out, nevertheless.

Harry's lips formed into the brightest smile, dimples pinching into his cheeks. His cheeks almost hurt from the pressure. Harry slammed his body into Louis', wrapping his arms around Louis' neck. Harry hugged Louis tight, breathing in Louis' fresh scent.

"Is that a yes?" Louis asked, wrapping his arms around Harry's white shirt.

Harry chuckled, and looked into Louis' eyes, smiling. "Yes, yes, yes, yes. You goof."


	16. Sunday, September 7th

 

*** * LIAM * ***

After a quick morning shift at the bookstore, Liam entered his dorm only to be beckoned with a very loud Louis cussing up a storm. Liam rolled his eyes. Who knew what Louis was being dramatic about now. Liam walked towards Louis' bedroom, as Louis' voice got louder.

"Damn it! No, that won't work. Shit! Fuck!!"

As Liam knocked at the entry of Louis' room, he noticed an avalanche of some sort had happened. There were clothes thrown about everywhere, with very little carpet showing through on the floor. Louis was definitely not the cleanest person Liam had ever met, but he usually wasn't this bad. 

"What the hell is going on?" Liam asked, as Louis turned around to look at Liam.

"I thought you had to work," Louis said, turning back towards his closet. Louis continued to take shirts off hangers and throw them across the room.

"I did, but it's Sunday, so I just worked the morning shift." Liam looked at Louis cautiously. "Want to tell me what's going on?"

"Morning? What time is it??" Louis screeched.

"Almost noon -" 

"Noon!!??? Shit!" Louis started to rapidly go through different hangers that were hanging in his closet, throwing random pieces of clothes behind his shoulder. Some wound up on his bed, some on the floor. 

"LOUIS!" Liam yelled at him, as he was getting nowhere with Louis.

"What??" Louis asked.

"What. Is. Going. ON!" Liam asked in a loud voice.

"Date. Harry." Louis was barely dressed, as he just had some track shorts on and a white undershirt on.

"Oh, right. When?" Liam asked. Liam had forgotten about Louis' date with Harry. No wonder Louis was freaking out.

"At two, and I have nothing to wear!" Louis gestured towards the room of clothes strewn everywhere. Liam got his phone out and took a quick photo when Louis wasn't looking, so he could send it to Niall.

"Lou, you're trying too hard. I know you're nervous, but this is just a casual thing."

"I know, Li, but I still don't know what to wear. I don't date…I don't know what I'm doing... please help me!" Louis begged.

It was hard not to be amused at Louis' behavior. Usually Louis didn't care what anyone thought, and told them so. But with anything in regards to Harry, Louis fretted over and stressed himself out to the max. Louis was so gone for Harry, but he'd never admit that. Anyone with eyes could see it, though, as it was so clearly obvious.

"Sit down, dude," Liam motioned towards the bed. "I'm not a fashion expert, but let's just try this." 

Louis sat down, as Liam started to look through the thrown items on the bed. Liam picked up some denim jeans, and handed them to Louis. "Put those on."

As Louis went to change, he texted Niall. He opened up his messages and attached the photo he took of Louis' messy room.

**Liam** This is what I'm dealing with. How's your side of things?

**Niall** Holy shit. Louis lost his cool?

**Niall** Harry isn't that bad, but he won't stop pacing. Which is making me miss me football game!

**Liam** I don't think Louis has had his cool since he first laid eyes on Harry. This better go well, I'm so sick of these two pining over each other! 

**Niall** You and me both, mate.

Liam put his phone back into his pants pocket, and then found two options that would probably work for Louis. Louis came back out from the bathroom.

"Alright, next?"

Liam picked up a red and white baseball tee with long sleeves, and a solid teal tee. "What do you think of these?"

"That's not too casual?" Louis asked.

"It's just a movie, Louis. It doesn't need to be fancy." Liam told him. 

"The red one may be a little hot though. Maybe the teal one, and layer it with a jacket?" Louis pondered.

"Try the teal one on, and I'll look for a jacket."

"Okay," Louis said, grabbing the shirt from Liam's hand, and headed back to the bathroom.

Liam looked around at Louis' options. Leather was way too hot for this time of year, and any kind of hoodie was way too casual. Which is mostly what Louis had. Who needed this many hoodies? Liam could count at least ten of them. Was Louis some kind of secret collector of hoodies? Liam did spot a nice lightweight faded denim jacket that Louis had that might work.

"Hmm," Liam said, once Louis came back. Liam wasn't as sold on the teal option as he was at first. "Just for kicks, let's try the red and white one. You can always push the sleeves up if it gets too warm."

A few minutes later, Louis returned dressed in the baseball tee. 

"That works. I like that much better," Liam told him. "You may still want a jacket in case the theater is cold."

"Actually thinking of doing the drive-in," Louis said.

Liam raised his eyebrows. "Oh really? How romantic."

"Shut up. It's all I could come up with." Louis grabbed the jean jacket from out of Liam's hands.

"Oh, come on, I'm just teasing," Liam told him. "You are so on edge. Calm down, you'll be fine."

"I'm so nervous." Louis sat on the edge of the bed, and rubbed his hands on his jeans. "I don't know anything about dating. I have no idea what I'm getting myself into, or even what you can or can't do on dates."

"Don't worry so much, Lou. Harry doesn't have much experience either. Just be yourself," Liam told him. "That's all you have to do. The guy is head over heels for you, there's not much you could do to ruin that."

"Oookay, sure," Louis said, sarcastically. "I'm not sure I would go that far." Louis grabbed his Vans and put them on his feet.

"Harry told you he likes you, don't you believe him?" Liam asked.

"Yes, of course I do. I'm just not sure why." Louis stood up. "I'm going to go load a couple of those lawn chairs in my car, then I need to tackle my hair."

Liam shook his head as Louis left the room. He really wished Louis had more confidence in himself. He hoped Harry could help with that. 

*** * LOUIS * ***

_ _

As Louis pulled up to pick up Harry, he noticed there were several other cars parked alongside the driveway. Harry's place was on a very small cul-de-sac with only a couple of houses or duplexes lined up. All the houses seemed to have garages, so he guessed several of them must be having company or something. Louis got out of his car, and climbed up the stairs to the second floor to where the guest house that Harry told him he stayed in.

Louis smoothed his shirt down, took a deep breath, and knocked. He could hear a television blaring as footsteps came closer. The door opened, and Louis was faced with the back of a blond head. Niall was looking back at the television, before he turned around to see Louis.

"Oh hey Louis! Come on in," Niall said, closing the door behind Louis. "Harry will be right out. He's talking to his mum."

Louis nodded, and sat on the couch. "What are you watching?"

"Footie!" Niall exclaimed, taking a seat next to Louis. "Manchester versus Liverpool."

"Love football. Wish I had more time to watch the games, but the dorms don't get the channels." Louis' heart was beating what seemed like million beats a minute in anticipation of seeing Harry, but maybe talking football with Niall would get his mind off of it temporarily. "Plus I'm mostly just interested in my home team."

"That's why I come over here. Harry's aunt gets most of the international channels," Niall grinned, turning back towards the TV. 

The game paused for a minute while the broadcast did a review and playback.

"Where are you from again?" Niall asked.

"Doncaster, in South Yorkshire."

"That's right. "The... Rovers?" 

"Yep," Louis nodded, as the game resumed.

"WHAT!!?? Oh come on, ref!!!" Niall yelled a few moments later. "Ridiculous!"

"Niall, SHUT UP! I'm on the phone!" Louis heard Harry call out from a room he guessed was in the back.

"Wrap it up, Styles! Your _guest_ is here!" Niall yelled back in a teasing tone.

Louis rolled his eyes at Niall. "Guest?"

Niall shrugged his shoulders, smiling wide, trying not to laugh. Cheeky, that one is. 

A few seconds later, Harry appeared. Louis looked up and couldn't help smile and blush just ever so slightly. Harry looked extremely gorgeous, even more than usual. He was dressed casually, but also quite nice and refined at the same time. He had a dark slate blue shirt on and was wearing a matching plaid button up over it unbuttoned. His hair was slightly slicked back and to the sides. Louis noticed Harry's hair was getting slightly longer. 

"Hi," Harry whispered, walking towards Louis to close the distance between them. Harry smiled sweetly at Louis, and looked at him closely. "Did you cut your hair?"

"Hi. Oh, yeah, just a little trim. Was getting a little long." Louis actually had gotten it cut for the date, but he wasn't going to admit that to Harry. His hair had gotten too long in the back, and he also had the stylist cut it in front so it wasn't so long when he styled it in a fringe.

Harry reached up to touch a couple of his strands that had gotten loose, and pushed them back. "I like it."

"Thanks," Louis smiled, slightly blushing.

"AHEM!" Niall loudly interrupted behind them on the couch. "Can you lovebirds move? I'm trying to watch the telly!"

"Good God Niall!" Harry exclaimed at Niall, exasperated. Louis moved out of Niall's way, as Harry did the same. "We're about to leave anyway."

Harry grabbed his keys and wallet, before he addressed Niall once more. "How long are you staying?"

Silence. Harry shook his head in disbelief at Louis.

"Niall?" Niall's eyes were glued to the television screen.

"NIALL!!" Harry yelled.

Niall broke out of his trance and looked at Harry. "What?"

"How long are you staying?" Harry repeated.

"Oh, until the game is over with."

"We're about to leave. Lock up?" Harry asked Niall.

"Oh! Sure. You two have fun. Be _safe_!" Niall cackled, whose implication was quickly ignored.

"Ready?" Louis asked Harry, motioning towards the door.

"Yeah, let's go," Harry replied, smiling.

Once they were down the stairs, Louis very lightly placed his hand on Harry's back, leading him towards his car. Louis sighed a deep breath of relief once he got into the car. So far, so good.

"You okay?" Harry asked, looking at Louis as he buckled his seatbelt.

"I'm just nervous. I should probably confess - I don't date much. Rarely ever." Louis wiped his palms on his jeans. He was already sweating.

"Hey," Harry turned to his side so he could look at Louis directly. "Louis. Hey." Harry lightly touched Louis' forearm in a soothing motion.

Louis looked towards Harry.

"I don't really date, either. I've only been out a couple of years. I'm nervous, too." Harry stilled his hand when his hand reached Louis' bicep.  "No pressure, okay? One step at a time." Harry paused. "So, where is it that we are going?" 

"I'm so lame at date ideas. Only thing I could think of was that they always show an older movie of some kind on Sundays at the drive-in theater. They are playing Back to the Future I believe?" 

"I like that idea! That's not lame, I think that sounds fun." Harry moved his hand up Louis' arm and reached up to lightly touch Louis' hair, whisping his fingers behind his ear. It was just a light touch, but also quite endearing.

"Really?" Louis looked at Harry hopefully.

"Yes! Now hop to it," Harry motioned towards the steering wheel, clapping his hands together, as he turned around in his seat.

"So bossy!" Louis couldn't help but smile through his accompanying laugh.

*** * ***

Louis unlocked the boot of his car and started to set up the lawn chairs he brought in front of his car. They had gotten there early enough that there were plenty of spots available in front of the big screen. Harry had gone off to the loo, as he forgot to go before he left, as he didn't want to make Louis wait any longer after Harry had him waiting while he was on the phone with his mum.

While Louis was still somewhat nervous, but he was much calmer than he was before. Admitting he was nervous to Harry seemed to have really helped, and Harry just had a very calming, if not soothing, effect on him. No one usually was able to calm Louis down from his nerves or his hysterics except for maybe his mum. It was quite nice that Harry had that effect on him. It was hard to not put so much pressure on this date, because Louis liked Harry so much. He definitely didn't want to lose him because he screwed up somehow, but he knew that Harry wouldn't do that. He was too nice first of all, and second, it was finally getting through to Louis' thick skull that Harry actually did like him. Louis knew he was a fairly good looking chap, but he definitely wasn't anywhere near Harry's league, who was just painstakingly beautiful. Louis had done his best to look good for his date. He got his hair cut, styled his hair to the side in a fringe. He didn't shave, but he only had an inch or two growth of facial hair, and he wasn't sure what Harry's preference was on men, so he kept it. He got the impression Harry definitely didn't like facial hair on himself, as he had yet to see Harry when he wasn't clean shaven. Louis liked the clean cut look on Harry, though.

Louis went back to close the boot once he had the lawn chairs set up, and sat down and waited for Harry. The movie didn't start for about twenty more minutes, so they still had time to get food or anything else if they wanted. The theater was showing two movies on different screens. Louis had gotten the tickets in advance, so he wasn't even sure what the other screen was playing. It was on the other side of the park that the drive-in theater was on, and he really wasn't all that curious to go and look. 

A few minutes later, Harry returned. Louis grinned at him as he got closer, stood up, and noticed that Harry had something in his arms. Louis looked closer and noticed it was brown with floppy ears.

"Um, Harry, what is that?" 

Harry grinned sheepishly. "It's a puppy, silly."

"Yes, I can see that. But why do you have a puppy?"

"Just look at him! He's so cute!" Harry brought the dog to Louis' face, and the dog licked him on his nose.

Louis smiled, and laughed at the dog tickling him. "Yes, he's very cute, Harry, but he's got to belong to someone. Where did you find him?" 

"He was by the loo. He just looked so lost, I had to pet him. And I couldn't just leave him there - plus he was giving me the eyes!"

"The eyes?"

"Yes, here hold him," Harry said, handing the puppy over to Louis. The puppy put his paws on Louis' shoulder and looked at Louis, giving him such sad puppy dog eyes. The puppy then rested his head on Louis' shoulder. Louis held the puppy and petted him. Harry was right, the puppy was adorable and had the sad puppy look down to a science.

"Aww," Louis heard Harry say.

"See?" Harry said to Louis.

"Ok, he's pretty adorable, I'll give you that. But he's got a collar on, surely he belongs to someone," Louis told Harry as he continued to pet the puppy.

"He had a tag with a number on it, but no one answered when I called."

"I bet he came from the other movie playing. I'm sure someone is looking for him by now. Maybe try again?" Louis offered.

Harry laughed as he saw Louis swaying with the puppy in his arms, as he got his phone out. 

Louis sat down in one of the lawn chairs and started to play with the puppy. The puppy couldn't have been more than three or four months old. The dog looked like some kind of mix - maybe a labrador retriever or some kind of shepherd. Louis looked at his collar and saw a number, as well as a name: MAX. 

"Hi, Max," Louis told the dog, and started to tease the dog and play with him. Louis then heard a laugh behind him, and Louis turned to see a dimpled Harry looking at him.

"You know, you're on a date with me, not the puppy." Harry crossed his arms and faked a pout at Louis.

"You're the one that brought him over here, may I remind you, Harold," Louis turned back around. "Did anyone answer?"

"Yes, they are coming right over. I told them where we are," Harry sat down next to Louis. "And my legal name isn't Harold. It's Harry."

"It's Harold."

"No, it's not," Harry said, lifting his bum up to get something out of his back pocket. "I'll even prove it to you." Harry had his wallet in his hand and took out his license, and showed it to Louis. "See?"

Louis looked over at what Harry was showing him as he scratched behind Max's ears. He had to admit the younger version of Harry in the photo was pretty cute. It did say Harry, but so what. Teasing Harry was fun. "Says Harold."

Harry sighed as he shook his head, trying not to laugh. He put his license back in his wallet, and put his wallet back. "Whatever you say, Lewis."

"Are you Harry?" A woman that looked to be around his mum's age approached them. 

"Oh, hi, are you Debbie?" Harry asked them.

"Yes, oh there you are Max!" Debbie approached Louis as Louis stood up and handed Max over to the woman. "I am so sorry!"

"Oh, don't' worry about it, he's adorable," Louis told her.

"And mischievous," Debbie told them, putting a leash on Max as she set him on the ground. "This isn't the first time he's done this. But thank you boys for looking after him."

A man came up behind Debbie, and she turned around. "Oh, honey, this nice couple took care of Max while he ran off again."

"You just couldn't resist could you, Max?" The man looked down at Max. "Thanks boys."

Debbie waved and smiled at them as they turned around to leave.

All Louis could think of was she referred to himself and Harry as a couple. Louis sat back down, in a daze. Did they already look like a couple to outsiders? They were only on their first date. Granted, they had hung out quite a lot a probably knew each other a little more than most people did on a first date, but that was besides the point. He felt Harry sit back down, and looked to his right. Harry had firm dimples dented in his cheeks, and it looked like Harry liked what Debbie had said, as well. Or maybe he was grinning at something else.

"What are you grinning at?" Louis asked.

"Oh, nothing. She was nice lady." Harry tried to stop grinning, but wasn't very successful. Harry definitely wasn't very subtle.

Louis smiled to himself. "Are you hungry? They have a full menu if you want something to eat. Still about ten minutes before the show starts."

"I'll go get something," Harry said as he started to stand up. Louis lightly pulled him back down.

"Uh uh. Sit back down," Louis told him. "What do you want? I'll get it."

"You sure?" Harry asked.

"Yes, of course, silly," Louis replied. 

"Um, maybe some chocolate? And a water." 

"Coming right up," Louis patted Harry's arm and got up to go get some food.

*** * HARRY * ***

As Harry waited for Louis to return, he felt his phone buzz. He opened his phone and smiled as he saw the last photo he had taken. Before he had called Debbie, he had snuck a quick photo of Louis with the dog on his shoulder. Harry had a feeling he'd be looking at that photo often, as it was just too adorable.

**Louis** Um.. what kind of chocolate?

**Harry** Anything really… peanut M &Ms if they have that. 

**Louis** Done! :)

Louis returned shortly with two bottles of water, M&Ms, and a hot dog. Most likely Louis had gotten the hot dog for himself, and Harry was already dreading having to look at Louis eat a _hot dog_.

"Here you go," Louis told Harry, handing him the box of M&Ms and the water as he sat down.

"Thanks," Harry smiled at Louis.

The movie was about to start, but Harry figured he could fill the air with something before then. He could just stare at Louis, but that might creep him out. You couldn't really blame him though, as Louis looked so handsome at that moment. Harry knew he was always taking about how fit Louis was, but could you blame him? When you combined the facial hair, the hairstyle, the sharp cheekbones, you had a Harry that was more than just attracted. He probably was done for the moment he laid eyes on him, he just didn't know it then. Harry really needed to look away from Louis, before he got himself in more trouble. Harry must have gone into dreamland for longer than he thought, because the screen in front of them started to show the introduction to the movie. 

Harry looked at Louis once more, who smiled at him as he took a drink of his water. Harry opened his M&Ms as he leaned back in his chair and started to watch the movie. 

Halfway through the movie, Louis got up and put his trash in the bin that was a few feet from them. He turned back to Harry to see if he had anything to be thrown away, and Harry handed over his empty M&Ms box. As Louis returned to his seat, he smiled sweetly at Harry, who returned his smile. As Harry's eyes shifted back to the movie, he felt Louis drape his arm around his shoulders. Harry looked at Louis in his peripheral vision, and noticed Louis was watching the movie, but he was also biting his lower lip slightly. Louis then started to rub the skin below Harry's curls on his neck. Even as light as the touches were, it felt amazing. 

Sooner than Harry liked, Louis removed his arm from Harry's shoulders and rested his hand on his pants. The chairs that Louis had brought didn't have arms, so their legs were sitting quite close to each other. Harry put his attention back on the movie, not even noticing that Louis was biting his lip again next to him, drumming his fingers nervously. 

A few moments later, Harry felt something on his hand. When he looked down, he noticed that Louis had clasped his hand in his. Harry, trying not to squee, moved his fingers apart to thread his fingers through Louis'. Harry then squeezed Louis' hand, not even hiding his dimpled grin. Louis, who was smiling as well, tried to keep his focus on the screen, as he gently touched Harry's cross tattoo on Harry's hand with his thumb. 

Harry couldn't hide his satisfaction any longer, and peeked a look at Louis. Louis felt Harry's eyes on him, and looked back at Harry, who was grinning so happily his dimples might be making a permanent mark on his cheeks. Louis couldn't help but grin back at him, as he blushed just slightly as his eyes crinkled with joy.

After the movie, Harry helped Louis fold the chairs back up and put them back in Louis' car. Louis closed the boot, and looked back at Harry.

"Did you like the movie?" Louis asked.

Harry took a couple steps closer to Louis. "Yeah, it was great. I hadn't seen that in awhile."

Harry looked up at him, and touched Louis' cheek. He was almost close enough to kiss him, but he wasn't sure Louis was ready for that, or if even he was. Instead, Harry pulled Louis into his arms and hugged him. Louis hugged him back, touching the back of Harry's head, combing his fingers through Harry's curls once again.

"Thank you for tonight," Harry whispered.

Louis looked up at Harry. "We're not done yet, love."

"We're not?" Harry asked, breaking apart from the hug.

"Nope," Louis said, walking towards the car, motioning to Harry to get in. "Come on."

*** * ***

"I hope you like ice cream," Louis told Harry, a few minutes after they were on the road.

"Who doesn't like ice cream?" Harry laughed.

Louis chuckled. "There's this ice cream shop not too far from here. Neat place with a retro vibe. It even has one of those old jukeboxes."

"Oh, cool," Harry said, as Louis pulled into a parking lot.

As they walked towards the entrance to the ice cream shop, Louis slipped his hand into Harry's hand, squeezing it just slightly. Harry looked at Louis, and he probably looked like a love sick puppy while doing so, but Harry didn't care.

Once they were inside the shop, Harry looked around. Louis was right, it was definitely a unique place. It was covered with records and memorabilia and old advertisements from the '50s. It looked like a diner from that era more than an ice cream shop.

When they reached the counter, Harry saw tubs of every flavor ice cream imaginable. There was a small line, but Harry already knew what he wanted.

"What are you thinking of getting?" Louis asked him, as Harry noticed that Louis' hand was still wrapped around his own.

"Vanilla. I love vanilla," Harry smiled. "You?"

"My favorite is mint chocolate chip, so probably that," Louis said, as the line moved forward.

A few minutes, later it was their turn.

"What can I get for you boys?" The lady behind the counter asked.

"He will have a scoop of vanilla, and I'll have a scoop of the mint chocolate chip," Louis told her.

Once they got their ice cream, they went to sit down at one of the red booths that were placed around the shop.

"So, what's your favorite movie?" Harry asked Louis, as they started to eat their ice cream.

"Grease," Louis said, instantly. "I love Grease."

"That is a good one," Harry replied, licking some ice cream from his waffle cone.

"What's your favorite?" Louis asked him.

"Um," Harry stalled. "Fight Club."

Louis looked at Harry skeptically. "It is not."

"Yes, it is! I love that movie," Harry replied, trying to sound reassuring.

"What's it about then?" Louis asked, not believing Harry for a second.

"Wrestling."

Louis laughed. "Come on now, tell me what your favorite is, as it's clear you've never even seen Fight Club."

Harry guessed Fight Club probably wasn't about wrestling. Oops. "Fine! I like romantic comedies like Love Actually and those kinds of movies." 

"There's nothing wrong with that, Harry. I like those kinds of movies, as well." Louis grabbed one of the plastic spoons they weren't using and spooned some of his ice cream out. "Here try this, it's really good."

Harry took the spoon from Louis and tried the ice cream. "Wow, that is quite tasty." Harry then leaned toward Louis and tried to spoon some more out of Louis' waffle cone.

Louis jerked back when he saw what Harry was trying to do. "Uh uh uh! If you wanted mint chocolate chip, you should have ordered that. That was your one freebie."

"Aww come on, just one more little bite!" Harry pleaded, trying to reach towards Louis' ice cream cone once again.

"No!" Louis laughed, as he looked at Harry. Harry was pouting the biggest pout Louis had probably ever seen, and he was giving him the same puppy dog eyes that Max had at the movies.

"Okay, fine, one more, but that's it!" Harry jumped up and down in his seat like a little kid, excited to get some more ice cream. 

"Yay!" Harry grinned at Louis, as he got another spoonful of mint chocolate chip. "Mmm," Harry moaned.

"Jesus," Harry heard Louis mumble under his breath.

*** * ***

Once Louis had put his car in park outside his aunt's house, Harry got out of the car. Louis came around and stood next to where Harry was leaning on Louis' car, and Harry could tell he was nervous again. Harry didn't want to admit that he was a little nervous, too. Louis was calm most of the date, but Harry had a feeling he knew why Louis was nervous again.

"Louis?"

Louis looked towards Harry, and Harry stretched his arms out for a hug. Louis smiled, and welcomed the hug, as Harry's arms wrapped around Louis' back. Harry could feel Louis' heart rate and breathing calm down slightly, as Harry rubbed soothing circles on his back.

Harry stepped back slightly so he could look at Louis. Looking into Louis' clear blue eyes, he knew he could get drowned in those eyes. Harry smoothed some of the hair that was falling down on Louis' face.

"Did you have a nice time?" Louis asked him, biting his lip slightly.

"The best time," Harry replied, smiling at Louis. "I… really like being with you."

"I did okay, then? I know my date planning skills need work," Louis looked down. 

"Louis, listen to me," Harry said, using a finger under Louis' chin to bring Louis' face upwards. "That stuff doesn't matter. I just like spending time with you. I don't care what we do."

"You're too nice to me," Louis said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"It's the truth," Harry told him, locking his eyes with Louis', making Louis smile. Louis leaned towards him, and rested his forehead down on Harry's. Harry placed his hand on Louis' cheek, making small caresses with his fingers. "There's no pressure, okay," he told Louis in a whisper, letting his arm drop to his side. Louis blinked and nodded in understanding, even though nothing was specifically stated. Louis then reached down to wrap his fingers around Harry's, interlocking their hands together.

"I'll call you?" Louis told him.

"You better," Harry said, kissing him on the cheek. Their hands slowly broke apart as Harry reached the stairs leading up to the guest house. Harry climbed up the stairs but turned to wave at Louis before he unlocked his door and went inside.


	17. Tuesday, September 9

*** * LOUIS * ***

Louis was spread out on the lawn basking in the sunny day, waiting for Harry to come out of his Tuesday mid-morning class. Louis had an early morning class, and with no work that afternoon, decided to wait it out until Harry’s class was finished, hoping to surprise him. Louis wasn’t sure why he had scheduled a class so early in the morning, as he was not a morning person. This morning, he just threw on a shirt and some sweatpants on, and hightailed it to his class so he wouldn’t be late. Once his class was over, he looked at Harry’s schedule he had given him to see if he could say hi to him or something.

Since Harry’s class was due out in less than an hour, Louis grabbed a snack and then sat himself on the lawn outside the building Harry’s class was in. It was such a nice sunny day, so Louis leaned back on the grass with his sunglasses on enjoying the sunshine. Coming from England, he didn’t get much sunshine, so he always tried to enjoy the most of it when he was able to enjoy a sunny day.

“Louis?”

Louis opened his eyes, and looked up. He must have dozed off. He sat up and removed his sunglasses, pinning them on the collar of his shirt and saw Harry.

“Harry!” Louis stood up, and grabbed his backpack that was on the grass. “Hi.”

“Hi, yourself,” Harry grinned. “What are you doing out here?”

“I just had my morning class, and I don’t have to work today, so I wanted to come say hi to you,” Louis said, looking at Harry, who seemed to be focused on something else. Louis followed Harry’s eyesight, and Harry was staring straight at .. Louis’ dick.

Louis’ eyes widened when he remembered he was such in a rush this morning he didn’t even put any underpants on. He was going commando in front of _Harry_. This was not good. Louis cleared his throat.

“Hm?” Harry said softly, not lifting his head from his vision of Louis’ groin. Louis really needed to get Harry to stop looking, or he would have very _stiff_ situation on his hands soon.

Louis cleared his throat again, but louder. Harry lifted his head up, and looked into Louis’ eyes, and blushed.

“My eyes are up here, you know,” Louis teased him.

Harry turned bright red. “Sorry.”

“Well, at least I know you definitely aren’t into girls like I did for a short time after we met.” Louis chuckled.

“What??” Harry asked, shocked.

Louis saw a bench, and motioned to Harry to come sit. Harry sat next to him, and dropped his backpack on the bench.

“A little while after we first met, I was running an errand. And I thought I saw you with a girl, and well, I got pretty jealous.” Louis started to comb his fingers through his hair. 

“A girl? What girl?" Harry asked.

"Niall later told me it was your sister. I felt pretty ridiculous afterwards," Louis told Harry.

"You were jealous of _Gemma_?” Harry chuckled.

“I know it’s silly.. or even stupid. But I was, and still am, just so enamouredwith you, and was having a hard time believing you were interested in me.” Louis started to fidget with his hands in his lap.

“Oh, Louis. Lou,” Harry said softly, as he pulled Louis closer and wrapped his arms around Louis’ neck. “I wish you could see what I see when I look at you.”

Harry lightly started to stroke the hair that was on Louis’ neck, and moved forward to touch him softly on the cheek. “You’re a mystery to me, Tomlinson. You are so confident in every way, but with some things, you just retreat and it baffles me.”

“I know. I have image and confidence issues at times. Even though I’m out, sometimes I don’t feel like I’m out, because I’m not really doing anything about it, you know? I don’t attend any of the events or meetings the LGBT Center on campus offers. I mean, I don’t really have the time to, but still … This probably isn’t making much sense.”

“No, I understand. I mean, I haven’t really done anything either…” Harry told him genuinely, moving his hand and started to draw circles on Louis’ leg. 

“I guess sometimes I just think I’m not good enough for someone. Or that a guy would even like me," Louis paused and took a deep breath. 

Harry looked at Louis with a glazed, yet almost worried, look. “I… like you.”

Louis smiled softly. “I’m sorry I’m like this. I just really like you, and this is all new to me, and I don’t know what to do. I’m an idiot, Harry - and I’ve never felt like this before, and all these insecurities just come to the surface when I’m around you, because I like you so much, and it scares me -“

“Hey, shh,” Harry soothed, as he leaned forward and pecked Louis on his forehead, and rubbed Louis’ back in soothing motions as he tucked his head into Louis’ shoulder. Harry held Louis for a couple of moments, before he sat back to look at Louis. Louis had his sunglasses tucked into his shirt, and the ‘what’ of his chest tattoo was clearly visible. Harry took his finger and lightly grazed the part of the tattoo that was visible. 

“Louis, breathe, ok?” Harry told Louis, rubbing his hands down Louis’ arms. “I like you, too. More than I probably would admit.” Louis looked up into Harry’s green eyes, hopeful. “I feel the same. It’s hard when you don’t have much experience in relationships, and the little experience you do have is with some asshole jerks.”

“Same,” Louis agreed.

“I… just feel something here. I was attracted to you as soon as I first saw you, and I like getting to know you. I would like to see where this could go, because I feel like there is something here, and I hope you do too.” Harry smiled at Louis softly. 

“I do,” Louis told him, giving Harry a soft smile.

“Let’s just see where this goes, okay? We can go slow, we don’t need to rush anything. As long as we are open and honest with each other, I think this could be something great. I just love spending time with you, and I want to keep doing it, if that’s okay with you.”

“I think I can manage that…” Louis smiled as he leaned forward and hugged Harry tightly. Louis closed his eyes. “Thank you,” Louis whispered ever so softly that Harry barely heard him.

Louis let go of Harry, and leaned back to look at Harry, who was smiling at him. Louis leaned forward and kissed Harry’s dimple. He just couldn’t get enough of those dimples. 

“Oh, I have a question!” Louis said excitedly, remembering something he saw online earlier about today.

“Okay?” Harry questioned.

“Does your bakery just do baked goods, or do they do other things as well?” Louis asked.

“Such as?”

“Like pancakes?”

“Pancakes? Louis, it’s a bakery, not a diner,” Harry chuckled. “Why?”

“Oh,” Louis frowned. “Well, it’s Pancake Day, and it’s a little hard to find British style pancakes here.”

“You could make some?” Harry suggested.

Louis cringed. “Uh… that’s probably not the best idea. I don’t have the ingredients … or a kitchen.”

“I do,” Harry piped up. “You could make some at my place.”

“Oh, I don’t know, I’m not very good at cooking —“

“Oh, nonsense,” Harry passed off with a wave of his hand. “You can’t be that bad. It’s pancakes, they aren’t that difficult.” 

“But Harold - “

“It will be fun! Come on,” Harry grabbed his backpack, and grabbed Louis hand, interlacing their fingers. 

“Where are we going?” Louis asked, as he reached for his backpack as quick as he could before he was hauled off to wherever Harry was taking him.

“The car, silly.”

 *** * ***

Louis bit his lip as he watched Harry get ingredients out of his pantry. This would not go very well. Louis was a horrible cook. The most he could prepare was a bowl of cereal. He couldn’t even toast anything without almost burning the house down. How was he supposed to make pancakes in front of Harry? He’d burn the place down, and he’d never see him again. He had to find a way out of this. Why did he bring up pancakes? Damn him and his obsession with Pancake Day. 

“Harry, I really don’t think this is a good idea - “ Louis started to say.

“Louis, you are just being silly! Pancakes are easy, anyone can make pancakes!” Harry exclaimed.

It was easy for Harry to say that, Louis thought, as Harry was some kind of genius scone baker. Louis almost thought he should start planning his funeral now since he was probably going to be dead after Louis burned Harry’s aunt’s duplex to the ground trying to cook pancakes. Which apparently is the easiest thing in the world to make. Louis will just have to see about that, but he highly doubts that is true.

Harry obviously wasn’t picking up on how Louis was nervous about this. Did Harry forget where Louis told him that he can’t cook? I guess Harry didn’t believe him.

“Harry, I really can’t cook very well - “ Louis said, as he stepped closer into Harry’s kitchen.

“Louis, pancakes are easy, I promise. You don’t need to know how to cook to make pancakes. I have the ingredients all out for you. Just mix the batter, heat the skillet, pour, flip, and viola!” Harry exclaimed excitedly with his arms.

“Wait, you aren’t going to help me?” Louis asked, worried.

“I have an online quiz I have to do, but you are welcome to the kitchen. I’ll be finished by the time you are done, and then we can have pancake day!” Harry said, clapping his hands, before turning around and going into the living room. 

*** * HARRY * ***

Harry stared at this computer screen trying to think of the answer for the question that was starting back at him. He was in the middle of an online quiz about one of the readings his literature course had assigned. It was a pretty simple quiz, but he was having trouble concentrating because there was a very cute boy in his kitchen. It was even harder to concentrate because that cute boy’s butt kept making an appearance every time Harry looked towards the kitchen.

Harry kind of chuckled when Louis seemed so unsettled about making pancakes. Pancakes were so simple to make, so Harry wasn’t sure why Louis was so worried about making pancakes. Harry heard a commotion in the kitchen and looked up, and bit on his lower lip slightly at the sight of Louis’ ass. He really had quite the nice behind. Harry thought he should go in and check up on Louis, because he kept hearing a lot of racket and mumbled cursings coming from the kitchen. However, Harry had a timed quiz that he had to finish, so he couldn’t really take a break from the quiz. 

Harry looked back to his computer screen, and typed his answer to the question that was displayed. Only a few more questions left, and then he could enjoy yummy pancakes. As Harry read the next question, he started to smell something possibly burning. He sniffed the air, and called out to Louis.

“Lou, do you smell something burning?” Harry called out.

“Nothing burning!” Louis yelled out in response.

Harry shrugged his shoulders, and went back to his quiz. He answered the last few questions with ease, and submitted his quiz. He closed his laptop, and got up to join Louis in the kitchen.

“How are the pancakes coming along?” Harry asked, walking into the kitchen.

Louis spun around to look at Harry in surprise. “Oh. You’re finished with your quiz?”

“All finished,” Harry replied.

Louis fidgeted with his hair, and motioned toward one of the seats at the small table in the kitchen. Why did Louis seem so nervous? It was just pancakes. He could see Louis put something on a plate.

“Close your eyes,” Louis told him.

“Okay,” Harry laughed, closing his eyes. He could hear Louis step closer, and sit down at the seat next to him. 

“Open them,” Louis said, as Harry opened his eyes. He looked at Louis, who seemed to be biting on his nail with his teeth, looking worried or nervous. Harry then looked down and saw Louis had placed a plate in front of him. Harry looked down in confusion, as he wasn’t sure what he was looking at. The objects on the plate were shaped like fish, with uneven burn markings. Maybe Louis made grilled fish? It didn’t smell like fish.

“Did you make fish?” Harry asked, confused, as he thought he was going to make pancakes.

“No…” Louis looked away, embarrassed. “Those are my pancakes."

“Oh.”

“I meant it when I said I don’t cook well," Louis started to say. "I’m quite awful at it. I stopped trying when my sisters always kept a fire extinguisher handy whenever I was in the kitchen.”

“They are just a little burned, Louis. I can eat around that,” Harry told Louis as he started to cut the pancakes with his fork. Harry took a bite of the pancakes, and paused. _These are awful_ , Harry grimaced, trying to swallow them without hurting Louis’ feelings.

“Told you,” Louis said smugly. “It’s okay, Harry, you don’t have to eat them.”

“I’m sorry,” Harry said genuinely, putting a napkin over his mouth to get rid of the pancakes. Harry could tolerate some bad food, but not only did the pancakes look bad, they tasted as bad as well.

“This is why I eat out 99% of the time.” Louis told Harry.

Harry gave Louis a sincere, yet small, smile. “Maybe it’s best we go out to get pancakes.”

Louis leaned forward, and played with one of the curls that was touching the back of Harry’s neck. “I’m sorry, I tried. I really did. I just don’t have your talent or even a mediocre talent when it comes to food.”

“Louis, it’s fine. I should have listened, I just didn’t think you were that bad with cooking - “

Louis chuckled. “Well, I am!”

Harry laughed softly, and looked at Louis. Even slightly embarrassed from his cooking disaster, Harry was still in awe of him. Most people would try to cover up that they were a bad cook, but Louis just owned up to it. Louis obviously wanted to put it out there that this was who Louis was, like it or not. He liked that Louis didn’t sugarcoat things. He really respected that about him. Louis cleared is throat, and Harry’s eyes shifted to Louis’ lips. He really wanted to kiss him. Louis looked at Harry, as Harry looked back at Louis, and their eyes danced between their eyes and their lips. Louis seemed to inch a little closer to Harry. _Was he going to kiss him?_  

“HARRY!” Harry and Louis jolted apart at the loud sound coming from the front door.

“Niall, would you knock!???” Harry jumped back, annoyed at Niall for interrupting. 

Of all the times for Niall to barge in, he choses the time when his lips were less than a centimeter away from Louis’. _Of course_.

“Hey Harry - “ Niall said as he came into the kitchen, and then nodded towards Louis. “Louis.” 

Niall sat down at the chair across from Harry. “What’s going on?”

Harry got an evil idea. “Nothing. Louis just made pancakes. You should try some.” Harry slid the plate of uneaten pancakes towards Niall. He knew Niall wouldn’t even second guess the pancakes, as Niall seriously would eat just about anything.

“Oh that’s right Pancake Day!” Niall said excitedly, as he grabbed the fork on the table and started to cut the pancake on the plate. “Fantastic, I’m starving.”

Harry watched Niall start to chew with a mischievous look on his face. Niall’s chewing started to slow, as a disgusted look started to appear on Niall’s face.

“What the fuck are these? These are disgusting!” Niall exclaimed, trying to swallow.

“That’s what you get for barging in and interrupting, you ass!” Harry exclaimed, with Louis chuckling. He took a hold of Louis’ hand, and stood up, with Louis following suit. “ _We’re_ going to go get some pancakes.”

Harry heard Niall puff in annoyance as he and Louis left the kitchen to head out the door.


End file.
